Slouching Toward Bethlehem
by theharshlightofday
Summary: The Cubiculum Nephili was destroyed, along with the future of the Nephilim race. Or was it? Lara and Kurtis soon find themselves pulled into a dark world of death, betrayal and an ancient evil which threatens to cover the earth in eternal darkness. LCxKT.
1. Prologue

_And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,  
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?_

W.B. Yeats.

**XX**

Kurtis' strange weapon lay in a pool of blood on the arena floor.

Lara approached the spot with a growing sense of foreboding, her footsteps echoing forlornly about the immense space. The arena was empty now, save for the mutilated carcass of the creature formerly known as Boaz. Lara gave this a wide berth as she paused to lean against one of the mechanisms that had lifted up the floor, holding her stomach and grimacing in pain. The explosion back in Eckhardt's lab was still ringing in her ears. She had barely escaped it with her life.

Her mysterious companion was nowhere to be found, despite the signs of a fierce battle here. This fact should have brought her some comfort; he had obviously won his own war. But she could not ignore the voice in her head which told her he may have left this place only to collapse elsewhere. Either way the situation looked bleak. There was just so much blood.

Lara bent down to pick up Kurtis' weapon, jumping slightly when the blades sprang out and the disc began to vibrate. It seemed to have a mind of its own. As she straightened to her feet the weapon suddenly jerked and pulled her body around in the direction of the arena door. The weapon gave one last tug, beckoning her onwards, before the blades smoothly retracted and then became still.

Lara smiled a knowing smile as she lowered the disc. Then she left the devastation of the Strahov behind her and headed for the open door - an angel slowly fading into the darkness.


	2. Damage

It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the darkness around her. Lara found the chamber she had entered was cavernous in size, stretching back much further than she could see. Water dripped from the distant ceiling and echoed in discordant rhythm with her footsteps as she considered her surroundings.

The concrete walls were blasted with slime, no doubt the result of the creature Boaz hauling her foul bulk through this chamber as she had waited to be released. A faint stench of decay still remained. Lara wished that she had a flare or a flashlight to lend more light to her surroundings. Perhaps the orange glow of Kurtis' weapon might have sufficed, but it was now unresponsive in her hand. Lara slipped it inside her backpack and drew her Scorpion-X instead. She did not wish to become a meal to anything that might be hiding in the shadows: the Strahov complex was still a dangerous place to be.

Lara soon noticed that her surroundings were becoming brighter. She also glimpsed a trail of blood at her feet. Instinctively her grip upon her weapon tightened as she continued on.

She knew that there must be a light source emanating from somewhere. Through the gloom she looked up and caught glimpse of an observation room set up high in the rafters. Here the distinct shape of a metal catwalk terminated in a ladder. Lara holstered her weapon with a smile and approached the far wall to climb it.

She reached the catwalk proper to find traces of blood upon the metal railings. Lara quickly drew her gun again and approached the door leading onto the observation room.

A large window of plexiglass greeted her, revealing indistinct details of the room beyond. It looked very much like the security booth where she had turned off the power to the Biodome earlier. A table and blue plastic chair stood beside a bank of blinking monitors and computer terminals, now unmanned and seemingly abandoned. The walls were an off-colour shade of white. Another door led off onto a fire exit.

Lara holstered her weapon, turning aside to study the metal door leading into this room. It was plastered with yellow-and-black signs warning Strahov personnel of various dangers. She noted with amusement her failure to don a hard hat before entering this area.

The door had no visible handle, being of the design which opened with the use of a keycard. Lara still had her high security pass from the Bio-Research Facility, and she removed it from her backpack and quickly slid it into the indicated slot. The keypad failed to light up. Lara frowned and tried the pass again. The door mechanism still did not respond. She was about to try it a third time when realization dawned on her. The explosion back in Eckhardt's lab must have knocked out the power again.

"Great," she muttered darkly to herself, "now I'm stuck inside this hellhole…"

Lara clenched her fist about her security pass in frustration. The room through the window beyond was her ticket out of the Strahov, but it remained just out of her reach. She had entered the arena through the underwater passage leading from the Vault of Trophies, and that way was now closed. There was no chance that she could reach the upper levels by herself. This was the only exit.

Anger rose up hot inside her. She drew back a foot to strike the impassable door for whatever it was worth. The next moment there was a crack like thunder. She almost jumped out of her skin when the door blasted clean off its hinges.

_What on earth…?_

Lara ripped her gun from its holster and spun around, her heart pounding. She found herself staring at a familiar figure down the barrel of her Scorpion-X.

"You don't look too pleased to see me."

Lara bit back a gasp as Kurtis emerged from the shadows. He looked terrible. His face was frighteningly pale as he lowered his outstretched hand. The other hand clutched at the catwalk railing beside him. His dark t-shirt was drenched with blood, the red print which reminded her of King Solomon's Seal torn apart to reveal a gaping wound in his abdomen. He looked as though he might collapse at any moment.

Despite her shock Lara still retained her senses. Her aim never wavered as she took a step back and removed the safety on her Scorpion-X.

"How do I know you're not Karel?"

"Karel?" He shook his head in confusion. His left hand was now pressed to his bleeding stomach. "What the hell are you talking about?" She noticed him tighten his grip upon the railing beside him. She could see that this support was the only thing which was keeping him upright.

Her expression softened a little.

"Hold out your right hand."

"My right hand? Can't you see that I'm spilling my guts here?"

She gestured threateningly with her gun.

"Just do it, Kurtis."

He stared at her in confusion for another moment, but then seemed to realise that arguing with her was futile. With some difficulty he braced his shoulder against the catwalk railing and removed his hand cautiously from this support. It was slippery with blood.

"Jesus, woman," he muttered, holding out his hand towards her. "Show a little less sympathy for the guy bleeding to death, would ya?"

Lara did not register this comment. Her eyes were too busy frantically searching his palm. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she saw no trace of the Nephilim symbol which had been imprinted upon Karel's hand. It was Kurtis after all.

She slowly lowered her gun as Kurtis awaited her response. He was breathing with considerable effort as he steadied himself against the catwalk railing. Lara returned her gun to its holster. Although he remained silent she could sense his distress.

"What happened?" she said. Her voice was very quiet. The question seemed to hang in the air for a moment, emphasising the metallic silence of the Strahov. She took a step forward and moved across to help him.

"Boaz," Kurtis said. He shot her a look. "Bitch skewered me right through the stomach. I guess killing her didn't go over too well."

Lara smiled at this. Her smile disappeared as soon as her gaze fell again upon the gaping hole in his abdomen. The wound continued to bleed at an alarming rate despite the pressure that Kurtis was applying to it. His hands were saturated with blood.

"I don't understand how you are still standing," Lara said. "The last time I saw something as bad as this the man was already in the morgue." She helped Kurtis to drape his right arm across her shoulder, and she took the bulk of his weight as she slipped her left arm around his waist. She frowned a little at how heavy he was. "Either there's something you're not telling me, Kurtis, or you make one _very_ convincing ghost."

Kurtis laughed. He quickly regretted this action as he promptly doubled over with pain. Lara paused and waited for him to regain his composure before they struggled through the doorway into the observation room beyond. It was eerily quiet inside, a stark contrast to the bustling activity of the building just a few hours earlier. Lara carefully stepped over the mangled door before helping Kurtis into the blue plastic chair set against the far wall.

"I don't know about your ghost theory," Kurtis managed with a grimace, "but your guess is as good as mine. I think I'm running on borrowed time here."

Lara slipped her backpack from her shoulders and rummaged inside for a roll of bandages. She soon found an unused medipack and ripped open the packaging in earnest.

"I'm going to wrap the wound as best as I can," she told him. "The power is out, so we can't count on calling for an ambulance. Do you have a phone with you?"

Kurtis shook his head. Lara avoided his gaze as she unfurled one of the bandages and wrapped it loosely about her fist. She did not have a phone either. It had been lost when one of the police dogs in Paris had taken her backpack. She would just have to try and get him to a hospital herself.

Kurtis seemed to sense her innermost thoughts.

"We can take my motorbike," he told her. "It's parked outside. Hopefully the engine hasn't frozen stiff in this weather."

Lara nodded absently, ripping a piece of gauze from the thick wad inside her medipack. She directed Kurtis to remove the pressure from his wound, and he lifted his shaking hand as she pressed the gauze to the wound and instructed him to hold it firm. This he did as she unrolled the bandage from her fist and wrapped it tightly about his abdomen. She worked quickly and without speaking, and Kurtis slipped his hand away when instructed as she secured the bandage with a firm double knot.

"Keep pressure on the wound," Lara said. She turned aside and returned her supplies to her backpack. "If the skewer hasn't hit any major organs then you might just have a chance."

Kurtis smiled grimly as she returned her backpack to her shoulders.

"Thanks, I feel very reassured." He made to stand up again with her help, but hissed through his teeth at the pain caused by this movement. His right hand reached out to steady himself against the chair. "We better make tracks. Don't think I'm gonna stay upright for long."

Lara's grip tightened about his waist. The blue plastic of the chair was now covered with his blood.

"Just hold on, alright?" Kurtis struggled shakily to his feet and together they crossed the room and made for the nearby fire exit. Lara paused and shifted her weight in order to reach out and push open the metal bar affixed to the door. "You've made it this far - you even managed to climb a ladder - so I wouldn't write you off just yet. We should make it to the hospital in time as long as we don't run into any more of Eckhardt's creations…"

**XXX**

Despite her reassurances Lara noticeably quickened her pace once they had reached the bottom of the stairwell. The pair continued with faltering steps down another dank corridor of the Strahov. The building was worryingly quiet; not even the low hum of the fortress' heating system could be heard as they passed through the sterile corridors and empty security offices. The remainder of Eckhardt's soldiers had obviously abandoned their posts as soon as an explosion had rocked the lower levels.

Kurtis had hardly spoken since they set off, concentrating instead on the effort of putting one foot firmly in front of the other. Lara could sense that something else was troubling him. Finally he seemed to give up the pretense. She felt his hand squeeze her shoulder ever so slightly.

"Is he dead?"

Lara did not meet his gaze.

"Yes." She did not particularly wish to elaborate about Karel's involvement at the moment. That was a conversation that could wait for another day if they both managed to live through this. "Eckhardt is dead, Kurtis. The Shards killed him just like you said they would."

Kurtis seemed to relax at these words. Knowing that his father's murderer was finally dead must have brought with it a sense of closure. She wondered whether he was disappointed that he had not been the one to kill Eckhardt himself.

"Did he suffer?"

Lara knew the answer that he wanted to hear.

"He did."

There was silence between them as she left him to digest this information. Occasionally Kurtis spoke a few words of instruction or gestured with a weak nod, directing her along the route he had originally taken through the Strahov. Lara could not tell whether they were making any real progress as they struggled on. Every corridor was beginning to look the same.

She hitched his arm a little higher over her shoulder and urged him onwards, grimacing at the strain of supporting his weight. She had no idea how long it had been since Kurtis had been injured, but she knew that every second was going to make a difference. His chances of survival were gradually slipping away.

They had passed through an endless number of corridors before Kurtis spoke again.

"My father was betrayed to his death." His voice was thick with emotion. "He thought that my mother was in danger, but he found himself walking into an ambush. I'd been estranged from him for years. We spoke one last time before it happened." He stumbled a moment and Lara paused to help him recover. "My mother sent me the Periapt Shards and my Chirugai – the bladed weapon you saw me using earlier. That was when I first went after Eckhardt."

Lara cast her eyes to the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I lost someone to Eckhardt as well." At least she thought she had, until Karel's startling revelation barely an hour ago. Lara frowned to herself but did not mention this to Kurtis just yet. He had enough problems to worry about. "He was a mentor as well as a friend... I guess you could say he was like a father to me. We weren't on the best of terms when it happened, but still. It hurts."

They had reached the exit they were looking for without even realising it. Lara stopped to help Kurtis lean against the wall beside them, then braced her feet and pulled open one of the heavy double doors set before her. She found herself looking out onto the interior of a familiar warehouse.

She turned back to Kurtis with a scathing look.

"You followed me inside the Strahov?"

Kurtis smirked at her annoyance.

"Hey, I figured there was no point in both of us trying to find a way in. You seemed like you knew what you were doing."

Lara would have scolded him if not for the seriousness of the situation at hand. Instead she returned and helped to support his weight again, leading him out through the doorway as she muttered obscenities under her breath. The warehouse before them stretched for a considerable distance, filled with packing crates and shelves of steel piping. A metal catwalk ran along the perimeter of the walls. Lara had been sneaking along that same catwalk just a few hours earlier.

"How did you get past the guards?" she asked.

Her question was soon answered as a dim shape loomed out of the darkness. It was a dead guard, lying sprawled at their feet with a huge gash along the base of his neck. He was still wearing his gasmask. Lara was glad that she could not see his face.

"Oh, you know," Kurtis replied, following her line of vision. "Old-fashioned patience, I guess."

They passed two more bodies before they reached the edge of the warehouse. Lara found the garage door before them standing partway open. Thankfully there was sufficient space for them to pass through, and she and Kurtis ducked underneath the gap and beyond into the room full of huge metal containers where Lara had first entered the Strahov.

They half-walked, half-stumbled through the side door and out into the unforgiving cold of night-time Prague. Kurtis' motorbike stood expectantly against the brick wall of the building in front of them, dusted with a fresh layer of snow. The wind howled threateningly as they approached it.

Lara fished Kurtis' keys out of his back pocket with some difficulty. Then she helped him onto the bike and kick started the engine before climbing on behind him, wrapping her left arm firmly about his waist. She twisted the throttle with her right. There was a roar and a sputtering of snow as the motorbike sped out of the alley and screeched a sharp turn out onto the street.

Lara was so intent upon the road before her that she was shocked to feel Kurtis' fingers gently entwine themselves with hers. She made no move to brush off this gesture. On the contrary, she gripped his hand a little tighter as she urged the bike onwards in search of a hospital. She was just glad that Kurtis could not see the colour rising in her cheeks. It had nothing to do with the cold.

**XXX**

_This is my first ever posted fanfic, so I would really appreciate some feedback. If enough people like this then I will post some more :)_


	3. Ordeal

It took them longer than Lara had expected to reach the nearest hospital. The recent floods which had devastated much of central Prague had wreaked untold havoc upon the city's public transportation, and Lara had a lot of difficulty weaving in and out of the gridlocked traffic whilst frantically searching for a sign advertising a hospital. It did not help that she knew very little Czech.

Eventually, however, she heard the approaching siren of an ambulance, and quickly followed it through the break in traffic and along a labyrinth of streets. Soon she had pulled up outside a large blue building on Kurtis' modified Harley. It had started snowing again, and she felt Kurtis shiver against her as she helped him from the motorbike and through the sliding doors into Accident and Emergency.

Motol Hospital was a huge sprawling complex, serving not only as a hospital for in-patient care but also as a branch of the medical faculty of nearby Charles University; in appearance it was more akin to a college campus than a medical facility. Fortunately for Lara, the ambulance had led her to the correct entrance for emergency care. Lara also found to her relief that many of the staff spoke perfect English. They rushed Kurtis into surgery as soon as she arrived.

The frequently shabby buildings Lara had encountered throughout her time in Prague were a remnant of the Communist era from which the city had only recently been freed. Although Motol Hospital appeared to be a modern facility from the outside, inside Lara found its rooms to be large, dark and quite miserable to look at.

_I guess appearances can be deceiving_, Lara mused, settling down onto a plastic chair in the dingy waiting room.

Upon their arrival she had taken their weapons and holsters and hidden them in her backpack to avoid any unwanted attention. She had also fabricated a story about Kurtis being stabbed in an attempted mugging. The doctors had thanked her for her help after rushing Kurtis away and not questioned her further; pick-pocketing and muggings were so common in Prague that there was not a lot that could be done to catch offenders.

As she glanced anxiously at the clock on the far wall, Lara wondered how she had grown so attached to Kurtis in the short space of time that she had known him. She could have just brought him here and left his fate to the hands of the doctors; both had saved each others' lives that night, and as far as she was concerned they were now even. Something caused her to linger here, however. She had not yet been recognized as a fugitive wanted by Interpol, but she was running a high risk by remaining out in public like this.

_You are turning soft, Lara, _she told herself. _You didn't let yourself grieve Werner's death and now your emotions are catching up with you._

Lara quietly fingered the blue-and-gold scarab amulet hanging about her neck, closing her eyes and searching for Putai's guiding voice. Only the silence greeted her. With a sigh, she released the amulet and tucked it back beneath her tank top on its silver chain.

She could scarcely believe that Kurtis had survived the trip to the hospital, let alone made it into surgery after the wound he had sustained. When she had voiced this thought to one of the doctors he had explained that such an occurrence was not uncommon:

"The amount of blood loss necessary to disable someone varies from person to person," he had told her, with a comforting hand upon her shoulder. "Luckily the blade which penetrated your friend's chest narrowly missed his liver. Stabbing wounds tend to close after the weapon is withdrawn, so it is not impossible for the bleeding to slow. I know of cases where individuals have even managed to _run_ considerable distances after receiving such an injury. Of course, the fact that he was conscious and the speed with which you got him here certainly helped."

The doctor's words echoed throughout her mind as she continued to sit there and wait for Kurtis to come out of surgery, watching the hands of the clock move unmercifully slowly about its face. After what seemed like several hours a gentle hand tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss?"

Lara turned to find a young nurse standing before her; her brown hair was pinned back in a tight bun, and she looked very tired. She must have been working the night shift.

"Can you tell me anything?" Lara's voice was strained, but still hopeful.

"Yes," the nurse said with a reassuring smile. "The surgery went well. Your friend has just been taken into the recovery room; he should be awake soon." Lara felt a huge surge of relief at these words. "I will let you go in and see him now, but bear in mind that visiting hours officially finished hours ago. You won't be able to stay the night, I'm afraid."

"That's alright," Lara said. "I'm just glad that I don't have to sit in this chair any longer…" She stood up and arched her back with a grimace. "Could you take me in to see him now?"

The nurse was only too happy to oblige, and she led Lara down the corridor and along several turns before pausing before a set of double doors.

"I'll give you ten minutes with him," she told Lara. "After that I'm afraid that you will have to find a hotel for the night. If you come and ask at the front desk they can help you to find somewhere nearby and call you a taxi."

Lara smiled her thanks, and the nurse left her with soft footsteps as she gently pushed open one of the doors into the high dependency unit. The room was not large, with just two beds and a bank of resuscitation equipment standing ready against one wall; everything was clean and painted in light pastels, although there was a hint of sterility to her surroundings which reminded Lara of the major surgery from which patients recuperated here.

The door clicked softly behind her as she pushed it closed. Lara appreciated the privacy that the nurse had given her; it would not be helpful if anyone overheard any conversations she and Kurtis had about the Nephilim or centuries-old black alchemists. Absently she noticed how stiff her legs had gotten as she crossed the room. She had been sitting down or pacing around the waiting room for a number of hours, and two days of constant travel and battle had already left her completely exhausted.

Kurtis occupied the bed at the far end of the room—the other one was currently empty—and Lara saw him lift his head slightly as she approached. The curtains were drawn across the window by his bedside, but the orange glow of a streetlamp streamed in through a slight gap in the hangings and fell across a chair standing against the wall. Lara settled down in it and studied Kurtis quietly; he had obviously just woken up.

"Hey," she murmured. "How are you doing?"

Kurtis did not answer at first; he weakly pushed himself up onto his elbows so that he was a bit more upright. Lara reached over and helped to adjust his pillows to make this position more comfortable.

"Well," he murmured. "I feel like I just got skewered through the chest, but according to the doctors that is exactly what happened to me. Ironic, really."

Lara gave him a pleased smile, glad to see he had retained his usual sarcasm. She had known the man for barely a few days, but already she felt as if she had known him for most of her life. He reminded her of herself in some moments; often in ways that she did not like to acknowledge.

"How long was I under?" he asked her. The painkillers were making his speech a little slurred, and there was a slightly glassy expression in his eyes that made her suspect that part of him was not there in the room with her. She pretended she did not notice and shook her head.

"I don't know," she told him. "A few hours, I think. I've lost all sense of time lately." She rubbed at her tired eyes with the heels of her hands and gave a sigh. "To be honest, it felt like a lifetime in that waiting room."

Kurtis raised an eyebrow at her. She saw that familiar spark return to his eyes for a moment.

"You're not showing sympathy for your mysterious stalker are you?" he asked her, a smirk playing at his lips. "That would totally negate the whole stalker-victim relationship."

Lara smiled right back as she slipped her backpack from her shoulders.

"Don't get your hopes up too high, Kurtis. All of the magazines in the waiting room were in Czech."

She reached inside her backpack and, snatching a surreptitious look back at the door, carefully removed the Chirugai and held it up to the light. Kurtis gave a smile as the disc quivered a little in her hand; the blades did not spring out this time, but the connection remained.

"This was the reason that I found you," Lara said quietly. "It pointed me in your direction and led me straight to you." Her gloved hands ran over its smooth surface, tracing the holes through which she had seen Kurtis slide his fingers earlier. She looked up and met his eyes. "How does it work?"

Kurtis shifted a little against his pillows.

"I'm not sure of the specifics," he said, "but it's made of Ferilium, a meteorite alloy. It was forged generations ago. Like most of my order's secrets it can only be properly used and controlled by someone trained in its use." As he spoke the disc quivered again and then fell still; Kurtis collapsed back against his pillows and closed his eyes, looking suddenly drained. "I don't have the strength to show you right now, but there is a mental connection there which allows me to control it. It grows stronger in my presence, but it is always tied to me." He opened his eyes again and smiled at her. "And it's a good thing too. I wouldn't have made it out of there without your help."

"Don't mention it," Lara murmured. "I'm sure you would have done the same thing for me." She returned the Chirugai to her backpack, and did not bother to meet his eyes to affirm her suspicions.

The room became quiet once again; neither was sure what to say next. Lara stared at her hands and felt the tension rising before she could bear it no longer:

"Kurtis, I'm really sorry. If it wasn't for me then you never would have stayed behind to fight Boaz. It's my fault that this happened."

She did not look up, unwilling to meet his gaze. Kurtis, however, reacted in a way she had never expected: he laughed.

"Are you kidding me, Croft?" he said incredulously. "You obviously don't know me at all." Lara looked up at him with a frown, but Kurtis simply shook his head good-naturedly and added: "I never think anything through. Hell, if you hadn't been there I would have still stayed and fought Boaz alone." He gestured to his wound, bandaged and hidden beneath the bedcovers which were currently pulled up to his chest. "This is nothing compared to some of the dumb shit that I've done in the past. Seriously, you don't know the half of it."

Lara smiled a little, her guilt tempered slightly by his words. For a moment the only sound was the quiet ticking of the nearby clock. It was now the early hours of the morning and Lara had not slept properly in days.

"Besides," Kurtis added with a grin, "I'll do anything to impress a hot woman."

Lara's smile became even broader. With a laugh she reached out and nudged Kurtis gently in the stomach.

"Watch it, mister. One well placed hit and those stitches will be busted open like a piñata."

Kurtis gave a soft cry at this action, more to mock her efforts than to show any real cause for pain. The next moment his hand shot out from beneath the bedcovers and caught her wrist; Lara gave another laugh. This only encouraged her to try again with the other hand, and soon the pair had descended into a gentle struggle as Lara attempted to prod him again in his tender stomach.

Someone cleared their throat from the vicinity of the doorway. Lara and Kurtis paused in mid-battle and turned to see the nurse standing there, arms folded and face stern. She did not look very amused.

"I think it best that you leave now," she said brusquely. "Your ten minutes are up." Her tone suggested that she was quite serious on the matter, and Lara exchanged a knowing glance with Kurtis before disentangling herself from his arms, taking up her backpack and making her way slowly to the doorway.

"I'll come and see you in the morning," she promised him, glancing back at Kurtis and giving him a smile. Lara avoided the steely gaze of the nurse and strode out into the deserted corridor, wondering in which direction she should go to retrace her steps to the hospital foyer.

**XXX**

Ten minutes later Lara had talked to a polite blonde at the front desk and ordered a taxi to take her to the nearest hotel. It was only a few blocks away, with remarkably spacious rooms and a view overlooking a quiet leafy street, but her surroundings did not matter much to Lara; she was just glad for the chance to sleep in a warm bed for the first time in days.

She had only the contents of her backpack with her, and no need to properly unpack. Instead, she simply slung the thing onto a wooden chair, undressed, released her dishevelled hair from its braid and stepped thankfully into the hot soothing water of the shower.

As she washed away the dirt of the last few days, random memories flashed through Lara's mind, coming thicker and faster even as they became all the more distressing: her hands covered in Werner's blood; taking a running leap off a rooftop to avoid a police helicopter; waking up in an old derailed train; diving away from a massive explosion at the pawnshop; Kurtis' fingers brushing teasingly down her stomach; seeing Luddick's smoking corpse draped in a chair in Eckhardt's office; watching Kristina Boaz being devoured by a mutated plant; being trapped in an airlock by Kurtis; removing the last Obscura Painting from its resting place in the Vault of Trophies; watching as Muller was devoured by the creature Boaz; taking an enormous leap towards a gate leading to Eckhardt's lab; watching in confusion as Karel stabbed Eckhardt in the forehead with the third Periapt Shard; running from the lab as the Sleeper was incinerated behind her; holding Kurtis' hand and praying that he would make it in time to the hospital...

Unchecked tears streamed down Lara's face, mixing salty with the water of the shower as she leant against the tiled wall with both arms outstretched and tried to stop the violent sobs which racked her body. She let the water stream down on her for a very long time, attempting to regain some sort of composure; her eyes were firmly shut as she willed herself to be strong. The amulet about her neck hung down between her breasts, silent and forgotten.

It was late when Lara finally turned the shower dial and shut off the water, drying herself off and redressing in a spare tank top and a pair of shorts for bed. A rusted red alarm clock sat on the bedside dresser, and Lara tried exasperatedly to work out how to set it; eventually she threw it across the room and left it abandoned in the corner.

Although she was completely exhausted from the events of the last few days, Lara had trouble getting to sleep that night. She kept waking up after reliving a particularly vivid dream. It was no longer the same recurring dream she had been having since her experiences in Egypt; this one was much worse.

She was in some kind of dim chamber, lit only by the flicker of flaming sconces set along the low stone walls. A dirge of pedantic chanting greeted her. With unwilling steps Lara slowly paused in the middle of a circle of purple fire, straining to see what hung before her. What she saw was so horrifying she closed her eyes and screamed until her lungs felt as if they were on fire.

When her eyes opened again the chamber was gone. All around her was now inky blackness. Lara watched as her hands trailed languidly in front of her, and a stream of bubbles issued from her mouth and rose to the glimmering surface far above.

Suddenly a muted roar impacted the water around her; with a frown, Lara pressed her hands to her abdomen and felt a dull sensation creep through her. When her hands came away she found that they were covered in blood. It quickly washed away and stained the water red around her, blinding her senses and filling her with panic.

The next moment a white-hot pain shot through her, and she clutched her stomach heavily. That was when she noticed that her hand was now holding the hilt of a dagger, already thrust deep into someone's chest. She recoiled in horror, blood seeping steadily down her wrist as she looked up into the eyes of the person she had just killed:

Kurtis.

Lara shot upright in bed for the fourth time that night, breathing heavily and covered in a sheen of sweat. She quickly raised her hand and reassured herself that it was not covered in blood. Even so, it was several minutes before her heart stopped pounding painfully fast in her chest.

Once her breathing had stilled a little Lara threw back the covers and padded to the bathroom to get herself a glass of water. As she gulped it down she avoided looking at her own anxious reflection in the mirror, and quickly returned to the warmth of her bed, thanking her luck the next morning when the dream did not come again.

**XXX**

_Thank you and a big hug to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You don't know how happy you made me! :) The first couple of chapters have basically been setting up the story, but I promise the action will begin (more or less) next chapter. Until then..._


	4. Parting Gifts

Almost two weeks had passed since her escape from the Strahov, and Lara Croft had just received an unexpected phone call.

The accented voice on the other line informed her that she needed to return to Paris to claim the body of her former mentor, Werner Von Croy. The post-mortem on his body was now finished, and being of no further use in the Monstrum case it had to be disposed of. Werner had no living relatives to make the necessary funeral arrangements and anyone else who knew him was unable to be of any help, being dead and all.

Nevertheless Lara had insisted that there must be someone else—friend, colleague or otherwise—to arrange Werner's funeral. The man had haltingly explained that she was the last friend of Werner's left alive, and after a lot of hesitation Lara had finally submitted to his request. Now she replaced the phone in its cradle with a sigh as she studied the phone number and address that she had scribbled down for the morgue; it irked Lara to no end that the Parisian police had felt the need to disclose her contact details like that.

It was barely a week since Lara had been exonerated all of charges by Interpol, and for a few days she had foolishly dared to hope that the whole grisly business was now finished. After their search of the Strahov it had become obvious that Pieter van Eckhardt was the real Monstrum, and for days his menacing visage had been splashed across the papers and on constant rotation on the news channels. It seemed as if everyone had forgotten all about Lara Croft. She was grateful for the bliss of anonymity once again.

Early morning sunlight streamed across her bed as Lara pulled on a sleeveless black top; her hair was already fixed up in a braid as she slung her backpack across her shoulders. Her few possessions had not taken long to pack. It just remained to pay one last visit to the hospital before she left for Paris.

Lara felt a stir of regret as she went down to the front desk and checked out of her room. Despite her troubles in this city she had grown quite fond of Prague, with its rich history and its endless alleyways and winding side streets. It was a city in which one could get reassuringly lost; and if Lara Croft needed one thing at the moment it was to be lost from the world.

**XXX**

The walk to the hospital took only fifteen minutes. When Lara arrived she found Kurtis out of bed and walking around, testing his nearly-acquired strength with the help of a nurse. He was due to be discharged the next day and looked to be in high spirits. Lara was pleasantly surprised by the rate at which he was recovering, and wondered whether Kurtis had some special Lux Veritatis healing powers that she did not know about. When Lara asked him about it he only gave her a conspiratorial grin.

Only a few days earlier Lara had summoned up the courage to tell Kurtis about Karel and his shape-shifting abilities. She suspected that the news that it might not have been Eckhardt who had killed his father was giving Kurtis further impetus to get out of his hospital bed. Lara had voiced her fears that the explosion back in the Strahov had not killed Karel, and Kurtis had agreed with her. A mere explosion, he said, could not kill a true Nephilim; the creatures were virtually indestructible. The only known way to kill them had been the Periapt Shards, but those had since been burned asunder by the incineration of Eckhardt's lab. They could not afford to let their guard down just yet.

Coverage of the investigation into the Strahov was playing upon the television bracketed to the ceiling as Lara settled down into the chair at Kurtis' bedside. By now the nurse had helped him back into bed again and left to give them some privacy. Lara studied the images which flickered across the television screen with a frown.

"Talk about overkill," she muttered. "You'd think they would find something new to speculate about by now."

Kurtis turned to her with a smile.

"You've never seen Fox News, have you?"

They both continued to watch quietly for a moment. Lara folded her arms and leant back in her chair, feeling oddly comfortable in his presence. She felt a little less guilty about leaving Kurtis alone in Prague when she saw how well his condition was improving. The past two weeks had been something of a crash course as the two had gotten to know each other in whirlwind fashion. It was strange, really, for Lara had not even learnt Kurtis' surname until the day after his surgery. Somehow they had gone about the process of getting to know each other in reverse; they had shared a life-changing experience before they had even exchanged social niceties.

Idly Lara fiddled with the scarab amulet hanging at her neck. It was a nervous habit she had picked up ever since acquiring the necklace. She was completely oblivious to Kurtis' eyes upon her until he said the words:

"So what's the deal with your necklace then?"

"Hmm?" Lara was pulled from her reverie with a jolt. Kurtis gestured towards her with a nod.

"Your necklace," he said. "Every time I look you seem to be playing with that thing. What's the deal with it?"

Lara felt her cheeks flush as she met his eyes; quickly she tucked the necklace on its chain back inside her tank top. Suddenly she felt ashamed.

"Egypt," she told him. Her voice was hauntingly quiet. "I got it in Egypt."

The two exchanged a knowing look at these words. With an awkward cough Kurtis sagged back against his pillows and did not question her further. Although they had exchanged a lot of conversation over the last two weeks both Lara and Kurtis had agreed to set boundaries for topics which would remain strictly taboo. Lara had kept schtum about her harrowing experience in Egypt and subsequent period of exile; she was sure that Kurtis was hiding something similarly painful from her. Although he had told her a little about his father she got the feeling that there was a lot of confusing and turbulent history there that he did not wish to delve into. Perhaps there were other things as well.

The two resumed their perusal of the news until a string of lurid commercials began. Kurtis gave a sigh and switched off the volume with the remote control which was resting on top of the bedcovers.

"So is this a social visit?" he asked. "Or do you have some business to attend to?"

His tone was jovial, but Lara sensed a deeper hurt there. He had probably been expecting this for a while. After all, it had been a week since Lara had been cleared by Interpol and effectively freed to return to England. She could not linger by his hospital bed forever. Eventually she had to get back to her old life.

Lara sighed.

"It's a bit of both," she conceded. "I thought that I should come down and say my goodbyes." She reached into the pocket of her trousers and produced a rather crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded the note and handed it to Kurtis, who took it with some hesitation. "I got a call from Paris. I need to go back." She watched Kurtis' face as he studied the scribbled note. "It's Werner… I need to organise his funeral."

Kurtis gave a gentle smile.

"And this is your phone number, is it?"

"Afraid not." Lara smiled back. "Thanks to a police dog in Paris I'm going to have to invest in a new phone." She watched as Kurtis folded the note again. "That's the number for the morgue in Paris. If you need to reach me then give them a call - I'll leave contact details with them once I find a hotel."

With a nod Kurtis leant over and slipped the folded note beneath the glass of water perched upon his bedside table. For a moment neither spoke. Lara broke the silence with a soft exclamation; she swung her backpack from her shoulders and cast a wary glance towards the door.

"I almost forgot," she said. "These belong to you." From the depths of her backpack she produced his gun and the Chirugai; the latter began to quiver a little in his presence. "I can't keep them in my hotel room anymore, so you'll have to find somewhere to hide them until you're discharged. You'll need some sort of protection in case…"

Lara trailed off at these words, looking suddenly anxious. Kurtis caught her gaze and could not help but grin.

"I appreciate the concern," he said. "But I can't exactly keep these things in my bedside drawer..."

Lara withdrew the items with a frown, thinking hard for a moment. Then she looked about the room in her search for a suitable hiding place. There seemed to be an abundance of drawers and closet space in this room, but all of these were filled with medical equipment and supplies. Neither was it possible to hide the weapons beneath Kurtis' bed, for the wide space beneath could not happily conceal anything, let alone a gun and a bladed weapon. Lara was about to admit defeat when something above Kurtis' bed caught her eye.

"No problem," she said. And Lara shifted her chair a little before climbing on top of it and stashing Kurtis' gun, holster and Chirugai inside the scooped light above his bed. Kurtis watched with amusement as Lara descended from the chair again and brushed some stray hair from her eyes. "There you go," she said. "Now they're within easy reach."

Kurtis raised an eyebrow.

"And what happens if someone notices the suspicious gun-shaped shadow in the lampshade?"

Lara shot him a look.

"They won't," she said. "Besides, you can always distract them with the pretty colours emanating from your Chirugai as it whizzes across the room…" She was clasping together the buckle of her backpack with one hand as she spoke, and did not notice Kurtis watching her with glistening eyes.

"Lara," he said. With a smile he reached out a hand and touched it to hers where it rested lightly upon the bedcovers. Before she could react Kurtis had scooped up her palm in his and raised it to his lips. "Thank you," he murmured, kissing the back of her palm. "I think I owe you my life."

Lara was caught completely off-guard by this gesture. For a moment she could not speak as he slowly released her hand. Eventually a warm smile spread across her face.

"You're welcome," she said. Distractedly she swung her backpack across her shoulders again. For a moment she stared down at her hands in her lap, and then she looked up at him with a coy smile. "So I was thinking," she ventured delicately. "Since you _do _owe me your life and all… Perhaps borrowing your motorbike to drive to Paris might help to repay that debt…"

Kurtis burst into laughter at the suggestion. It dissipated as quickly as it had come when he noticed the serious look upon Lara's face. He raised an incredulous eyebrow at her.

"No," he said. "Hell no."

"Oh, come on, Kurtis!" she cried. "It's not like you're going to be riding around on the thing. You've just recovered from major surgery!"

Kurtis settled back against his pillows and laughed again.

"You seriously think I'm gonna let you ride off with my bike, Croft?"

She shook her head in exasperation as she stood up.

"I have three motorbikes at home, Kurtis. Why do you think I would take off with yours?"

"Well," Kurtis said in a quiet voice, "we haven't known each other _that_ long..."

Lara just rolled her eyes good-naturedly and headed for the door.

**XXX**

Without the use of Kurtis' motorbike Lara was forced to rely on public transportation in order to reach Paris. Luckily she still had plenty of cash from her business dealings in the French capital, and was able to book herself a last-minute seat on the Orient Express. It may have been only a week since she was a wanted criminal, but Lara Croft could still afford luxury.

The train would take less than a day to reach Paris, and Lara was determined to get the entire Werner business over and done with as quickly as possible. After that she had no idea what she would do. She was free to return to England, it was true, but the prospect of going home filled her with a sense of emptiness it was impossible to describe.

The luxury of her surroundings distracted Lara from such dark thoughts as she stepped up onto the running board of the Orient Express. There she displayed her ticket to the conductor and made her way carefully through the train carriage, walking the aisle past plush brown sofas and footstools laden with richly-dressed passengers. The blue-and-gold exterior of the Orient Express was like something from a bygone era; the interior was an infusion of rich mahogany and brass, a reminder of the golden age of rail when the pace of life was noticeably slower.

Lara garnered a number of questioning looks as she made her way through the carriage, dressed as she was in her unconventional attire of tank top, camouflage pants and climbing boots. If Lara noticed these glances then she did not acknowledge them. Not until she reached the bar at the end of the carriage did she break her stride. There she ordered a brandy - an entire bottle rather than just a glass. As she handed over her money Lara failed to notice a dark stranger watching her intently from the far end of the train, his unshaven face illuminated by the orange glow of a nearby lamp.

**XXX**

The grim reason for her journey caused Lara to descend into a dark mood, and she politely declined the other passengers' invitations to dinner. Instead she sat alone in her private compartment, nursing the beginnings of a headache; slowly she poured herself a glass of brandy and mulled over the events of the last few weeks. She was both mentally and physically exhausted. The feeling was enough to make her want to break down and cry.

With a grimace of distaste Lara gulped down some of her brandy, cursing herself for admitting such weakness. She had dealt with death and destruction all of her life; hardship was the very thing that defined her. So why did the prospect of leaving a man whom she hardly knew get her so upset? Perhaps it was because he was the last person she had to cling to now. Her butler had left her services shortly after the whole Egypt business, and the day Werner had contacted her that autumn was her first real contact with the outside world in a very long time. She had cut herself off from everyone she once knew. Long ago she had learnt that it was easier not to let anyone in. Hers was a dangerous lifestyle, and the last few weeks were a perfect example of what could happen to anyone Lara Croft held dear.

As she sunk back into her seat Lara's necklace chinked against the side of her brandy glass. It pulled her away from her thoughts for a moment. Suddenly she recalled the words of advice Putai had given her upon the eve of her trip to Paris:

_Whenever your need is strong, remember the amulet. It will help you to learn._

Many times Lara had searched for Putai's guiding voice somewhere deep in her subconscious, only to be greeted by silence. She remained unsure how the mental connection between the tribal mystic and the scarab amulet worked, but Lara had learnt to recognise the familiar tug at her subconscious when Putai was present. Often Putai's voice came to her from nowhere to give encouragement or grave warning. Lately she felt as though the healer had abandoned her.

Soon Lara noticed that her glass was empty. Slowly she set about pouring herself another drink. She did not relish the prospect of seeing Werner's lifeless body again. Neither did she wish to return to Paris. The city held nothing but bad memories for her. Then again, it was also where she had met Kurtis.

Lara could never have imagined meeting such a kindred spirit in the middle of all this chaos. She felt her heart race at the memory of his hand running lightly down her arm, trailing at her thigh and then skimming across her abdomen with restrained desire. And the intense blue of his eyes as she had leant in closer to steal a forbidden kiss…

It was with great effort that Lara dragged her thoughts out of the gutter. She threw back another brandy, letting the bitter taste in her mouth distract her mind from further thoughts about a certain American. It was hard to do so, however, when Lara remembered the chivalrous way that he had kissed the back of her palm that morning.

Outside the view from her window revealed the setting sun dipping below the distant Carpathian Mountains; the soft glow of her desk lamp was now the only light in the darkened compartment. Suddenly Lara realized how late it was. She thought fleetingly about heading to the bar to get some food, or at least calling the porter to order another bottle of brandy.

Any such thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakeable crack of a gunshot further down the train.

**XXX**

_I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I would have updated earlier but my internet was down for a _•few•_ days. No fanfiction for days… What is the world coming to?!_


	5. Call to Arms

Anna put down the phone with a sigh. She was not supposed to use the hospital line to make a personal call, but this was an emergency. She was barely an hour into her night shift and the babysitter had called complaining of stomach pains - now she had to find a replacement at extremely short notice.

Wearily she began to flick through the filing cabinet, renewing her search through the patient records for a copy of an x-ray report. She was so distracted that she did not notice the large group of visitors approaching reception until they had stepped right up to the desk.

One of the men casually leant across its surface and placed a gloved hand upon the file she was holding; he lowered it firmly as Anna looked up and met his eyes in shock. The stranger was dressed all in black. The only flash of colour in his ensemble was the blood red scarf he wore around his neck. His blonde hair was slicked back to reveal a pair of penetrating eyes. Anna was so taken aback by those eyes that for a moment she could not speak.

"_Promiňte, máte přání_?" she asked shakily.

The man did not remove his hand from the folder.

"_Mluvíte anglicky_?" he said.

Anna stammered: "Y-You are from England?"

"Paris, actually." The stranger smiled strangely. The gesture made his face seem all the more menacing. "But I oversee investments worldwide. English is the language of my business. I'm sure you understand."

Anna could not take her eyes away as the man slowly withdrew his hand from her file. She had almost forgotten that she was holding it.

"How can I help, sir?" she said with her heavy accent. Although she tried her best to sound cheerful her wavering voice easily betrayed her unease.

The stranger gestured to the men standing behind him. There were perhaps half a dozen of them, clad in black and wearing heavy jackets and gloves to keep out the cold. Anna did not like the look of them at all. Suddenly she wished that the security guard was here to help her; he had left barely ten minutes ago to investigate an incident in the parking lot.

"We're here to visit a patient," said the man.

"Are you a relative, sir?"

"Just a friend," he said. "The patient's name is Kurtis Trent. He will be expecting us. Could you tell me which room he is in?"

Anna nodded a little. She was perspiring so much that the paper stuck to her palms as she lowered the file. A few wisps of blonde hair fell before her eyes as she bent down and searched again through the filing cabinet for her patient histories. When she finally pulled out the correct file and saw what was printed upon it her feeling of unease only grew. She returned the file to its place and closed the bottom drawer with finality.

"I'm sorry," she said curtly, brushing the hair away from her face as she straightened again. "But I'm not authorised to give out that information. If you provide me with some identification then I will check with security to see if you are allowed to-"

The stranger's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her wrist as Anna turned to reach for the phone.

"Don't even try it," he growled. The man violently twisted Anna's arm to demonstrate his point. She gave a soft cry of distress which was stifled as soon as she took in his expression. The men who flanked him drew in closer to shield this scene from the view of others in the reception area. "You'd be dead before you even began to dial."

Anna's voice died in her terror. All she could manage was a choking gasp as the man loosened his grip and then leant across the desk again until his face was mere inches from hers. His other hand reached inside the folds of his jacket.

"Which room is he in?" he said firmly.

Anna shook her head weakly.

"I have already told you – I cannot give out that information without-"

"Which room?" he growled.

"I-I can't…"

The next moment there was a sharp crack.

Anna's last thought was of her child. She left behind a slippery trail of blood as her body slumped across the desk and then fell to the ground, bringing a mass of papers fluttering down with her. She did not get up again.

Joachim Karel lowered his gun with a frown. He ignored the screams which now filled the reception area as he calmly slipped behind the desk and pulled open the filing cabinet. As he rifled through the patient histories his men brandished guns and began to bark orders at those frightened bystanders caught in the vicinity.

It was not long before Karel found what he was looking for. He smiled in satisfaction as he read the name printed upon the folder in his hands:

_Trent, Kurtis_.

**XXX**

He was having the nightmare again, only this time he witnessed the entire thing in full colour and stereo sound: the otherworldly howls, the bone chilling screams, and then the sickening thud as his father's corpse crumpled to the ground before him. A dark figure stood amidst this blood-soaked destruction, a fisted gauntlet crackling with flames upon his hand. He threw back his head and began to shake with maniacal laughter.

But this time when the killer turned to face him it was not Pieter van Eckhardt that he saw. Now it was the gleeful visage of Joachim Karel.

"_Hiiiisssssss... Ssspiiiittttt! Diiiieeee iiiinnn paaaaaiiiin! Huuuurrrrt the fleeeesssshh! Poiiiissssson and paaaiiiinnnn! Ssssssstaaaaabbb and sssslaaaassshh! Rrrriiiippp and bliiiiinnnnd. Aaaaanguiiissssh and ssssstiiiing. Sssssuffeeerrrr, yeeessssss sssssuffeeeerrr. Buuuuurn aaaawaay sssssooooffttttt ssskiiinnn. Sssssscreeeaam fooor meeeeee. Veeeritaaaatisssss maaaaaggooot-" _

Kurtis jerked awake in his bed with a start, sweating profusely. Even now he imagined that he could hear his father's screams still lingering in the world of the waking.

With a shudder he sank back against his pillow and closed his eyes again. The nightmare never became easier no matter how many times he had endured it that past year. It filled him with a heady mixture of horror and dread. It was not until Kurtis heard the terrified screams again that he realised they were not echoes from the realm of nightmare.

He was out of bed and pulling on his clothes in an instant, taking his gun and the Chirugai from the lampshade where Lara had stashed them that morning. His holster he hastily slung across one shoulder as he pushed open the door to his room. The Chirugai quivered in his hand a little as Kurtis clipped it to his belt and then cautiously peered out into the corridor.

He found the patients outside in a state of mild panic. Some retreated to their rooms at the behest of staff, whilst others simply remained frozen where they were and exchanged anxious glances as gunshots resounded from the floor below.

The bandages around his chest were due to be removed when he was discharged the next morning, and although Kurtis could move around freely of his own accord there was still a dull sense of throbbing whenever he moved too strenuously. It would make running extremely difficult, and from the looks of things he was going to have to do plenty of it.

A gunshot rang out again. This time it was worryingly close. Kurtis knew that this could not be simply a coincidence - somebody was coming for him.

He was almost returned to full strength, but Kurtis was hardly a match for a group of armed men with so many innocent people in the line of fire. His hand reached for the holstered weapon at his side, but Kurtis swiftly decided against it. There was enough chaos already without him waving another gun around.

Instead he turned right and rushed off down the corridor, approaching the stairwell and flinging open the fire exit door. The alarm was set off with a pealing whine. Those bystanders who had not barricaded themselves in a room ran for the stairwell beyond, and Kurtis yelled to get the attention of others as he urged them through impatiently. The corridor in front of him was soon emptied. A few papers tumbled to the floor, discarded as one of the nurses had fled, but nobody remained save for an older woman who was jabbing frantically at the call button beside the elevator.

Kurtis rolled his eyes.

"You have _got _to be kidding me…"

As he hurried back down the corridor in her direction Kurtis noticed that the elevator was ascending from the lower floors with frightening speed. He did not wish to stick around and find out who was on their way up.

When he touched a hand to the woman's shoulder she almost screamed with fright. It took a few mumbled words of reassurance in his rudimentary Czech to calm her down sufficiently, although she continued to linger as he tried to persuade her to follow him, her eyes lingering on his gun in its shoulder holster. When he finally began to guide her away the elevator doors behind them slid open with a pleasant chime.

Kurtis turned with a start. Three men stood before them, wielding 9mm pistols. They were clad all in black and had discarded their jackets upon the floor of the elevator. Now there was nothing to disguise the heavy flak jackets that they wore. Kurtis felt a chill of terror as he recognised the soldiers of The Agency.

The woman he was helping gave a panicked cry and flung herself behind him. The men, however, ignored her as their eyes locked upon Kurtis. For a moment he simply returned their gaze, unflinching. He knew that there was no escape from these men once they had identified their target.

**XXX**

Behind him the woman he had been helping slowly backed away until her back met the wall, her eyes wide in terror. Kurtis measured the men before him quietly as they stepped out of the elevator. They had guns, it was true, but they seemed reluctant to shoot him. He realised with a cold chill that they needed him alive.

One of the men studied him with amusement, his lips curling into a familiar smile.

"Mr. Trent," he said. "We thought that we might find you here. Our employer wishes to speak with you."

Kurtis remained unmoved.

"And who exactly is your employer?"

The man shook his head.

"It is none of your concern," he said. "Come downstairs with us and we'll take you to see him. I'm sure you don't want to have any blood upon your hands."

And at these words the lead soldier nodded to one of his companions, who raised his gun and aimed it at the woman who had flattened herself against the wall. She gave a whimper. Kurtis' face remained impassive.

"Put your weapon on the floor," said the mercenary. "You won't need it any longer."

Kurtis looked at each soldier in turn, considering them quietly. Then he unclasped his shoulder holster, negotiating the strap over his head and slinging it onto the floor beside him. The lead soldier smiled again and then indicated to one of his companions to cautiously approach.

Suddenly the Chirugai ripped free at Kurtis' belt. Orange sparks swirled like a halo about his head as the disc launched itself at his attacker. The man staggered off-balance as he ducked to avoid the whirling blades, and Kurtis punched the man hard in the face. He threw so much of his weight into the blow that he staggered and fell to his knees. Pain exploded in his stomach and the connection with his Chirugai faltered. The disc clattered to the floor.

As Kurtis struggled back to his feet the second mercenary stepped forward and raised his gun, pointing it squarely at Kurtis' head.

"This would be a lot easier if you just came quietly," he said.

Kurtis looked past the barrel of the gun and gazed up at his opponent. Then he seized his attacker's arm and held it fast against his side, throwing himself forward and driving the heel of his palm into the man's nose with a sickening crack.

As the mercenary staggered backwards, howling in agony, Kurtis grabbed the man's gun before it fell and turned to the third assailant. Before the man could get a shot off Kurtis hurriedly blasted his attacker in the hand. The man dropped his gun with a scream of pain and fell to his knees as blood sprayed across the floor.

Kurtis backed off a little, remaining crouched in a defensive stance. The man at his feet writhed in agony, cradling his bloody hand to his chest; the other was clutching his ruined nose as blood pooled upon the floor beneath him. The third man lay sprawled unconscious just inside the elevator, and a series of chimes sounded from its direction as the doors tried and repeatedly failed to close against this obstruction and return to the lower floors.

Kurtis found his hands were trembling as he aimed his gun at the lead mercenary's head.

"Who hired you?" he hissed.

The man refused to answer as he dragged himself upright against the wall beside the elevator, clutching his ruined hand to his chest. His face was pale from shock.

"Tell me who hired you," Kurtis said again with a snarl, "or next time I will aim a little higher."

"It should be obvious," his attacker said with a grunt. "You both have some unfinished business to attend to."

Kurtis did not lower the gun.

"Karel."

The mercenary gave an ironic chuckle, which soon descended into a coughing fit. Kurtis' knuckles were bloody as he cocked the gun at his assailant's head.

"Why didn't you just shoot me?" he growled. "What does Karel want with me?"

"I have no idea," said his assailant. "And even if I did know do you really think that I would tell you?"

Kurtis raised an eyebrow.

"I've got a chamber full of bullets that might convince you otherwise."

His attacker laughed.

"Even if you try to run you won't get far. They're on their way up here, shooting whoever gets in the way. They've just taken out security." He smiled. "Collateral damage is just a minor inconvenience, after all."

Kurtis had heard enough. With a swift kick to the head he rendered the man unconscious, and the mercenary slumped to the floor next to his fallen companion, who was trembling in shock as blood continued to pour from his broken nose. Kurtis studied the results of his handiwork without pity as he discarded his gun.

He turned away to leave. As he did so the woman he had saved suddenly enveloped Kurtis in a desperate hug. He stood there feeling decidedly awkward before she pulled away again, shaking like a leaf. He had not realised she was still there.

"Thank you," the woman stammered in broken English. "Thank you so, I-"

"What kind of person heads for the elevator in an emergency?" Kurtis said in incredulity. He pointed to one of the fire drill signs next to the elevator doors. "Do you even read these things? Just how stupid are you?"

And before the stunned woman could react Kurtis snatched up his shoulder holster and then firmly steered her in the direction of the fire exit. Together they both rushed down the corridor, which was still engulfed by the whine of the fire alarm. As soon as the woman was safely down the stairwell Kurtis closed the fire exit door behind her, collapsing back against it with a soft curse.

It was just as he had feared. Joachim Karel was alive, and he was coming for him.

Kurtis took a series of deep breaths, preparing his mind for the coming onslaught. Then he thrust out his arms with his palms upwards.

Slowly he pushed out with his mind and released his vision from his body, allowing it to float weightlessly for a time before it picked up speed and raced down the corridor. When he reached the elevator Kurtis willed his sight to change direction and plunge right through the door leading to the nearby stairwell.

Everything that he saw was covered in an orange haze. Sounds echoed and images loomed strangely distorted before him as he descended the stairs. It did not take long before a group of soldiers appeared in his mind's eye, climbing the stairwell with determined steps. They were being led by a large hulking figure with a shaved head. In contrast to his subordinates he wore a blue jacket over his black garb which was secured with a thick belt, and he lifted a gloved hand as he gestured two of his soldiers to lead the way with their guns at the ready.

It was Marten Gunderson, the soldier he had worked for almost a decade ago; the soldier who had caught him unawares as he made his way towards Eckhardt's lab. Kurtis had been bludgeoned unconscious by the butt of that man's rifle and woken up in an empty storeroom with his hands tied behind his back. It was during his failed escape from the same storeroom that Kurtis had come face-to-face with Joachim Karel. He had a few scores to settle before the end of all of this.

Kurtis urgently retreated to his body. The pain of his returning vision threatened to knock him off-balance as he staggered backwards. He cursed softly as he reached out and leant heavily against the wall. Then he began to weigh his options. The first was simply to go out there and face them, guns blazing, in a potentially suicidal gesture. The other option was to try and lead these men away from the hospital and pick them off one by one.

_Yep_, an annoyingly sarcastic part of his mind told him. _Option two definitely the favourite there._

Once he had recovered from the afterburn of his farsee Kurtis pushed away from the wall. The sound of approaching footsteps and the clanking of weapons grew steadily louder. But he did not run. It was not long before Gunderson appeared at the end of the corridor, flanked by a group of armed mercenaries. They rushed to a halt as they noticed the men Kurtis had taken out by the elevator.

Kurtis flicked his wrist and the abandoned Chirugai quivered in place. Several men stepped back in alarm as it leapt into the air beside them with a surge of orange sparks. Then the Chirugai flew down the length of the corridor. Kurtis caught it almost lazily in his outstretched hand. Its blades retracted with a hiss as Kurtis flashed the soldiers a confident smirk.

"You want me?" he shouted. "Well, let's see if you can catch me first!"

And he gave them a two-fingered salute and then turned on his heel, racing off down a turn in the corridor and hoping desperately that they would follow him.

**XXX**

_My stupid computer has broke, which means I am going to have to type up my chapters all over again! I am sorry if this update has been a long time in coming but my internet connection sucks and I can never get on to edit my chapters._

_Okay, enough ranting :D Thank you Acid-Rush, Lady Lara Croft and Lara-is-my-rolemodel for all your lovely comments! I was not aware the speech in my story was so funny. Maybe I have no sense of humour? :p Oh, one last thing: this story is going to become extremely dark at times and, since I have next to no knowledge about ratings, if someone thinks this story needs to be higher than PG-13 would they please let me know? Thanks!_

_Translations:_

_Promiňte, máte přání__? _= I'm sorry, may I help you?

_Mluvíte anglicky_?= Do you speak English?


	6. Blood Money

Lara was never one to back down from a confrontation and tonight was no exception. She was already sliding back her compartment door, gun in her hand, moments after she heard the first gunshot. Now she cautiously glanced out into the corridor of the train, snatching a look in both directions before ducking inside once again. And she was not the only one: other passengers were peering into the corridor as well, searching for the origin of the noise. They seemed completely oblivious to the danger that they were putting themselves in.

"Civilians," she muttered darkly.

Lara had barely spoken the words when another gunshot cut through the air. This time it was frighteningly close. A series of screams followed, and Lara heard the sound of compartment doors being hurriedly closed. She only hoped that nobody had paid the price for their curiosity.

Clicking the safety off her gun, Lara dropped to one knee and carefully peered around the door to her right. Two black-clad figures were making their way down the train towards her. Both were carrying sub-machine guns. Lara quickly ducked back into her compartment with a soft curse.

Perhaps these men were simply hijackers; after all, the Orient Express was famed for its ostentation and luxury, but Lara knew that this could not be a mere coincidence. Somebody knew that she had boarded this train and had sent these men after her. In any other situation Lara would have gone out there, guns blazing, and hoped to eliminate these men before they had even registered her presence. This time, however, she was surrounded by civilians. She would have to subdue these men as cleanly as possible. She needed answers.

Lara set herself firmly in the corner next to the doorway, crouching out of view of the corridor outside with her gun firmly trained on the open door. The gunshots had ceased but she could hear sounds of distress from neighbouring compartments. Obviously these men were checking each compartment in turn. They did not seem to be making much headway, for Lara heard a few muted screams and then the sound of each compartment door being slammed shut again. Soon she heard footsteps approaching her position.

Lara steeled herself and tried to calm her breathing, willing her heart not to beat so loudly. She would have a split second to act before these men registered her presence, and she did not have much room to manoeuvre. Any mistake could easily prove fatal.

The door of her neighbour's compartment was suddenly thrown open. Lara heard a loud curse, more footsteps, and then the edge of a bulky silhouette as it flashed across the wall of the train corridor. This was it.

Lara leapt out of her hiding place and smashed her elbow into the first man's face. There was a sickening crack as the force of the blow fractured his jaw. His gun went skidding down the corridor. Before he even fell to the floor Lara had thrown up her gun and thrust the barrel between the eyes of the second man; his face registered total shock as Lara seized his throat and hissed threateningly: "Come with me."

He was in no position to argue. Behind Lara his companion lay writhing upon the floor in agony, blood pooling from his ruined face and staining the rich carpeting red. His eyes flickered towards this sight and then back, meeting the steely gaze of Lara once more. He gave her a barely perceptible nod.

Without loosening her grip upon his throat Lara forced her attacker into her compartment. Once they were both inside she ordered him to drop his gun. When the man hesitated Lara tightened her grip, threatening to choke him.

"Drop it," she snarled. "Trust me, it's not going to be of any further use."

She saw fear flicker across the man's face for a moment. Obviously he was torn between his sense of duty and the thought of preserving his own hide. Eventually, however, common sense prevailed. He let his sub-machine gun slip from his fingers. It clattered uselessly to the floor. Lara kicked it aside into the corner of the compartment. Then she released the man's throat, keeping her gun trained upon him as she reached back and slid the compartment door closed behind them. There was now no means of escape.

"Who sent you?" Lara asked him, steadying her gun again. "They must be paying you well if you're willing to make such a scene."

Her attacker stood with his feet planted, hands hovering awkwardly at his side. In the light of her desk lamp Lara studied his face. The man had dark closely-shaven hair and a swarthy complexion; he was dressed all in black. Lara could tell from a glance that he was wearing a flack jacket beneath his clothes. From the corridor outside the agonised moans of his companion could be heard. Despite the seriousness of the situation the man before her gave a hoarse laugh.

"We didn't set out to make a scene," he told her. He had a heavy accent. "Damned security guard got in our way, son-of-a-bitch…" He trailed off and began to mumble a string of expletives which she did not understand.

Lara raised an eyebrow.

"And you took him out for free, did you? Out of the goodness of your heart?"

The man gave a grunt and said: "I'm not telling you anything."

Lara approached him with slow steps. She did not lower her gun.

"I beg to differ. I think that you will tell me everything that I want know." Lara smiled. "I just need to make you reconsider."

And she struck out and caught him in the back with her boot, forcing the man roughly into the wall. Then she firmly pressed her gun to the back of his head as she checked him over for other weapons. When she was satisfied that the man was unarmed she drew back and asked again: "Who sent you?"

When there was no immediate answer Lara pressed her gun a little harder against his head. Her attacker gave a soft cry of pain.

"Who sent you?" she snarled. "And please do elaborate. I'm feeling a tad confused about the whole situation."

The man flinched from the pressure of the gun; weakly he attempted to turn his head and face his assailant. Lara grabbed his arm and twisted it violently behind his back. The man cried out again, this time much more loudly.

"Don't make me angry," Lara hissed through clenched teeth. "Or would you rather I break your arm instead? Bet that would eat into your next paycheque…"

And she wrenched the man's arm even higher, threatening to shatter the bones there. Her attacker stifled a scream of agony.

"Alright, alright," he conceded. His voice was tinged with panic and he was breathing heavily. "I'll tell you if you stop trying to rip my fucking arm off!"

Lara released the pressure upon the man's arm, albeit slightly. She continued, however, to keep a firm grip upon her gun as she held it against the back of his head. She was not going to take any chances.

"Well?" she said. "Enlighten me."

"We were sent to kill you."

Lara rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I sort of guessed that already."

The man gave a snort of derisive laughter.

"We were meant to get rid of you so that our work would not be disturbed," he told her. "You were just a loose end that needed tidying up."

Lara remembered hearing those words before and felt a surge of anger. The sight of Werner's lifeless body flashed before her eyes again; she saw his glasses lying shattered upon the blood-stained carpet. Lightning flashed in her memory. Angrily Lara wrenched the man's arm behind his back. He cried out with renewed pain.

"My patience is starting to wear thin," she growled, "so either tell me something useful or those might as well be your last words." She drove her gun harder into the man's head to illustrate her point. "And I dare you to test my sincerity."

This threat seemed to have the desired effect, for the man suddenly blurted out: "Master Karel. H-he is the one who hired us."

Lara felt as though the bottom of her stomach had dropped out.

"Karel?"

"Yes." The man smiled at the fear now tingeing her voice. "We lured you here with a phone call. We had to get you out of the way - Master Karel is conducting other business as we speak."

"What business?" Lara asked. She did not like the way this conversation was heading at all. When the man did not immediately answer she growled and said again: "What business?"

"Business in Prague. He never actually left." The man laughed a little. "I'm surprised you didn't see this coming."

Lara ignored this jibe.

"Just tell me what this business is," she said angrily. "And why Karel had to get me out of the way to accomplish it. Last time we spoke he seemed quite keen to enlist me to his psychotic cause."

"Isn't it obvious? Master Karel is going to the hospital to pay your friend a little visit."

Lara's heart skipped a beat. How could she have been so blind? Only a few days ago she and Kurtis had discussed the very real possibility that Karel might have survived the ruin of the Strahov. It had been nearly two weeks since the incineration of Eckhardt's lab had destroyed the Sleeper. Obviously Karel had not been idle.

For a moment all Lara felt was sheer panic, but then anger began to cloud her senses.

"If Karel wanted me dead then why did he lead me away from Prague?" she asked. "And what does he want with Kurtis?"

Her attacker shrugged his shoulders. The gesture was rendered rather useless due to the pressure was Lara was exerting against his back. As if in realisation of this the man gave a curt laugh and said: "I don't know what he wants exactly, but he needs this guy alive. He was quite specific about that. Your friend will probably wish he was dead after Master Karel is through with him."

Lara had heard enough. Without a word she lowered her gun and released the man's arm from her iron grip. He turned to face her in surprise as Lara returned her weapon to the holster hidden at her ankle.

"Any other time," Lara said as she straightened again. "I would have put a bullet through your brain without a second thought. But on a train full of witnesses that would probably not be the best idea." Lara smiled ironically. "Especially after that pesky murder conviction was just lifted." She shrugged. "Never mind. I guess we'll just have to do this in a more painful way."

And before the man could react Lara struck out and booted him squarely in the crotch. Her attacker gave a strangled cry, his face going rigid with pain. Lara simply drew back with a satisfied smirk, then turned and slowly walked over to the spot where the man's gun lay forgotten in the corner of the compartment. She disengaged the barrel and tipped all of the bullets onto the floor. Then she tossed the gun aside and approached the man again. He had collapsed onto his knees.

"For all of your precautions," she said, "perhaps you should have worn a cup."

And Lara punched him across the jaw. The man fell like a dead weight to the floor, unconscious. She looked down at him without emotion.

Further down the train Lara could hear other passengers moving around; several compartment doors slid open as they emerged to check if the coast was clear. With a heavy sigh she approached her own door, opened it and ducked her head into the corridor. Several anxious faces stared back at her. The other man was still lying upon the floor, clutching his hands to his ruined face.

"It's safe now," Lara called out. She dearly wished that someone here spoke English. "You can come out. Somebody tell the driver that we were hijacked by robbers. I stopped them." Lara looked without pity at the man moaning at her feet. "And bring something to restrain them with."

Several people broke off down the corridor to carry out her wishes. Obviously there _were _some English-speaking passengers on board, or perhaps violence was a universal language. Lara took the opportunity to step back inside her compartment and study the unconscious form of the man she had interrogated. Bending down she rummaged through his pockets. In the front pocket of his jeans she found a familiar black business card. It was the same one she had found upon one of the guards in Le Serpent Rouge. Lara knew what words it would bear before she even turned it over:

_The Agency._

**XXX**

After answering the questions of the police waiting at the next station all Lara wanted to do was collapse. It seemed as though she had done nothing but deal with the machinations of Interpol over the last few weeks, and it was all she could do to bite her lip and prevent herself from screaming in frustration at their endless line of questioning. She stuck resolutely to her story that these men were nothing more than robbers, and kept the business card she had found on her attacker's person well hidden in her back pocket. It was perfectly clear to Lara that Karel had hired the mercenary services of Marten Gunderson to take her out, just as Eckhardt had done before him. This was thus personal business that she wished to deal with herself. Getting Interpol involved would only complicate matters; besides, they had no idea of the magnitude of events which were now unfolding.

When she was finally released from questioning Lara realised that she was stranded in a tiny village somewhere near the Czech-German border. Due to the circumstances the Orient Express had ground to a halt for the night; Lara could not afford to wait until the next day to reach another station and catch an eastward bound train. In the end she found a payphone and begrudgingly ordered a taxi. It took half an hour to arrive from a neighbouring town.

Soon Lara was sitting in its rather tattered backseat, anxiously staring out of the window and drumming her fingers in agitation upon her knee. A darkened landscape blurred past her window, punctuated here and there by the twinkling lights of distant towns. Her driver may have not spoken much English, but all Lara had needed to do was shove a large wad of notes into his hand and her request had swiftly overcome the language barrier.

A beaded cross rattled back and forth where it hung from the driver's rear-view mirror. Lara wondered idly whether he was indeed a man of devout faith, or whether such a decoration was there to merely to keep up appearances; perhaps it was a mixture of both. With a sigh she leant back in her seat and tried to get lost in the rhythm of the song currently playing upon the radio. It was no use. She could not get the thought of Kurtis out of her head. What if she was already too late? Karel would reach the hospital long before she even stepped inside the city limits of Prague. And what had The Agency soldier on the train meant when he said that Kurtis would soon wish that he was dead?

A million questions swirled through her mind as Lara was carried on towards Prague, and eventually the monotonous rhythm of the taxi's jarring suspension and her own exhaustion carried her off into a restless sleep. Her dreams were filled with flashes of lightning and her own bloodied hands. She jolted awake with a start when she realised just how long she had been sleeping.

Outside the window showed a snow-covered landscape veiled beneath the blanket of night. With a groan Lara rubbed at her eyes and straightened up again. The radio was still playing and her driver silent as he concentrated on the road; snow was falling and causing treacherous conditions. She was unsure how long she had been asleep.

Lara reached forwards and tapped on the glass partition to get the driver's attention. He started a little at the noise.

"Prague?" she asked. "Have we reached Prague yet?" She felt stupid asking such a question in English, and hastily tried to recall some of her dated German. "_Ist es weit vin heir_? _Prag?_"

The driver shook his head. He gestured to the road ahead with a wave of his hand.

"Nearly there," he said in clipped English.

And he was right. Lara looked out of the window and suddenly recognised the road that they were now driving down. It was the same one she had travelled down in the Cleaner's jeep on her way to Prague two weeks ago. They were not far from the city limits. Lara got the driver's attention again and said: "_Folgen Sie dieser Straße, bitte._"

As soon as the looming building of Motol Hospital came into view Lara directed her driver to pull off the main road. With a nod he turned into the hospital grounds and came to a jarring stop outside Accident and Emergency. Lara soon missed the sickening warmth of the taxi as she paid her extortionate fare and stepped out into the biting cold of Prague.

The snow was falling thickly that night; visibility was bleak and the chill wind raised goosebumps along Lara's bare arms. As the taxi turned and sped off behind her, however, the cold was no longer the sole cause of those goosebumps. Through the eddying flurries of snow Lara saw that the hospital entrance before her was barricaded by squad cars; the doors were cordoned off with a ream of yellow police tape.

She had arrived at a crime scene.

**XXX**

_I thought I'd put another chapter up whilst my sister is at work and I can sneak onto her laptop :) I'd only printed off the first eight chapters of this story, so I've got some serious typing to do... Hopefully it won't take too long for me to rewrite the rest, and besides, it will help me to improve it. Right? :s Thank you to Lady Lara Croft and Acid-Rush once again! Your reviews always make me smile. :D_

_Translations:_

_Ist es weit vin heir? Prag? =_ Is it far? Prague?

_Folgen Sie dieser Straße, bitte. _= Follow this road, please.


	7. Vendettas

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

»**Chapter Six: Vendettas**»

* * *

Kurtis checked his speed and turned right, barrelling down another dingy corridor of Prague General. Anyone still in the vicinity had taken refuge in the rooms, so he found his way unchallenged and quite devoid of human life. The growing sounds of his pursuers reached his ears, and he snatched a quick glance over his shoulder. The advancing shadows of their figures were emerging just around the corner, and he hurriedly tore his gaze away and sped onwards.

He had just rounded a corner when there was a roar of gunfire, and several bullets impacted into the wall where his head had been moments earlier. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to go faster.

If only he'd had a chance to recover; he might have been up and walking the hospital's corridors days ago. Maybe then he would have had a slight clue as to where the fuck he was going. The only advantage he could see to the situation was that Karel hadn't a clue either.

There appeared a fork in the corridors before him and he chose the right way, merely because he was right-handed and it would be easier to keep track of the turns. Sure enough he came to two more junctions, going right each time, before reaching the stairwell. He threw his shoulder at the door and burst out onto the stairs, leaning against the railing in order to catch his breath. He allowed himself a whole two seconds of rest before racing down the stairs, opting to take the conventional route instead of leaping down like he had done at the Louvre. He was in no condition to be doing that anyways. There were no beautiful women to impress this time either.

He made it down one set of stairs before his pursuers caught him, emerging suddenly from the doorway to the ground floor. The two men both held pistols in their hands, aimed straight at Kurtis' head. He was not going to be defeated so easily though, and as quick as lightning he let loose his Chirguai. The bladed disc severed the hand off one man, effectively disarming him, and Kurtis managed to slip between the two as he howled in agony and clutched his bleeding hand. Distracted by his partner's injury, the other man was a little too slow to react to Kurtis' escape. When he regained his senses and raised his weapon, Kurtis had already disappeared down the corridor.

He was far from safe however, as another group of men seemed to appear out of nowhere, blocking his way out of the main entrance. Undeterred, Kurtis changed course in mid-career, racing towards the side entrance. Thankfully the hospital signs were printed in Czech, German and English, and he'd noticed a sign on the wall reading 'Private Parking Lot', figuring he could probably reach his bike in time.

Soon enough another sign appeared, pointing down the left corridor. Kurtis raced on, kept going solely by adrenaline and sheer determination. Whatever these guys wanted with him it could not be good.

He was about halfway down the corridor when he found his route blocked by more men. Turning around he saw his earlier pursuers about a dozen feet away. Looking desperately about him he noticed a door marked 'Store Room'. It was the best he was going to get, and he disappeared into the room, locking the door securely behind him. The handle rattled dangerously, and he looked about him for a means of escape.

A small air vent high up on the right wall caught his eye, and he raised his Boran X. The vent cover soon lay riddled with bullets on the floor as Kurtis climbed a stacking shelf and eased himself into the vent shaft. He had only gone a few metres when he heard the unmistakeable sound of wood impacting and splintering. A resulting slam told him they had opened the door, and he lay as still and quiet as possible, hoping they would not notice his presence. It was quite difficult when his breath came out in ragged gasps, still trying to recover from the unexpected exertion. His hope was soon shattered however, when a gruff voice rang out not far from his position.

"He's in the vent!"

Kurtis cursed under his breath, then immediately had to scrabble for cover as a barrage of bullets were fired into his hiding place. Thankfully he had turned a junction in the vent shaft, so any bullets were in no danger of finding their mark.

"Gentlemen!" a different voice called, bringing an immediate halt to the gunfire. Kurtis knew without having to see that it was Karel. "Killing Mr. Trent was not a part of the agreement. Although," Kurtis did not even need to imagine the malicious smile on his face, "That does not mean we can't do any damage."

There were a number of sniggers from the men, and Kurtis vaguely wondered if they _were _men. He could not imagine any human being rejoicing in causing another pain.

"The bastard cut off my hand!" another spoke, and Kurtis could already guess which one, "I'm not gonna let him die all clean and quick-like with a bullet to the head!"

There was a murmur of agreement

"Just be glad you are in a hospital Jonath," Karel said, "And you did not needlessly bleed to death." There was a pause, and then he spoke louder.

"Gunderson, take your men and move out!"

**TBC...**

_hehe, here is another chapter uploaded way too fast for you all! What can I say? I have a nice long weekend to relax and catch up on fanfiction... Mock exams suck so bad! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one :)_


	8. Exodus

The pain in his injured abdomen was becoming sharper by the second, but Kurtis simply pushed it to the back of his mind and continued on. It was impossible to retrace his steps: if he tried to return the way that he had come he would surely be captured. Perhaps if he was fast enough he might just make it to his motorbike in time.

After what seemed like an eternity the vent shaft that he was crawling through began to widen somewhat, and Kurtis found that he was able to stand with his back hunched and go on a little more quickly. Soon the shadow of a whirring fan was thrown across the floor beneath him, and he found an opening at his feet. Through the grilling he saw nothing but a darkened storeroom, however, and continued on again in his search for an opening leading to the parking garage.

There was no doubt in his mind that Gunderson would be on his trail, but Kurtis figured that he had the upper hand since his men had been ordered not to shoot. If he could just keep enough distance between himself and them then he would stand a chance of reaching his bike and hopefully getting the hell out of dodge.

Eventually Kurtis paused, listening hard for any noises below him. The silence was beginning to unnerve him as he continued on again in a half-crouched position, taking care to step as lightly as possible. In this fashion it took him about ten minutes of vainly scrambling through the vents before he reached a dead end and a grilled opening into the parking garage beyond. By this time he was out of breath and his stomach was throbbing unmercifully.

Again Kurtis paused and listened hard, straining his eyes into every dark corner of the area below. Idly he considered whether or not to use his farsee ability.

_No,_ he decided, _I've tired myself out too much already. I'll probably collapse if I put that much strain on my mind. _

Instead Kurtis drew his Boran X, backing away several steps before he took aim at the bolts on the vent cover. Several blasts resounded in the silence, and slowly Kurtis returned his gun to its shoulder holster as he listened carefully for any sign of his pursuers. When none was forthcoming he steeled himself and then threw his weight against the grilling before him, taking the brunt of the impact with his shoulder.

Two more hits brought the vent cover off its hinges, and Kurtis cringed as it crashed to the ground half a dozen feet below. If nobody had heard him before then surely they would come springing out of the shadows now.

Fortunately, however, there was no hint of movement once the echoes had finally died down, and gently Kurtis hoisted himself down through the opening and out of the vent to the ground below.

He landed with a soft thud, instinctively bending his knees as he landed in order to cushion the sound of his fall. With one hand upon the ground he remained frozen in this crouch, considering the area quietly. When he was convinced it was indeed safe he straightened again and quickly set off in search of his motorbike.

**XX****X**

Kurtis stuck to the shadows as he weaved his way amongst the multitude of parked cars, his senses alert. At this time of night the parking garage was deserted, and he did not meet anybody as he approached the small bay on street level where his motorbike stood, his green bedroll still tied to its handlebars. Fortunately he still had the keys upon his person, although Lara had handed them back to him that morning only with great reluctance. As he drew them out of his pocket they jangled worryingly in the echoing quiet, and instantly Kurtis came to a standstill, knowing instinctively that something was wrong.

This was just too easy. The exit was in sight, and he was only minutes away from freedom. This had to be a trap.

But it was too late to turn back. Suddenly his senses were assaulted by an immensely bright light. The darkness was abruptly extinguished as Kurtis threw out a hand to shield his eyes. One of the parked cars before him had turned on its headlights, and this seemed to act as some kind of signal, for one set of headlights and then another were duly switched on in rapid succession. Soon an entire row of black cars stood illuminated in the darkness, barring his way, their engines rumbling threateningly.

Kurtis took in this sight as he slowly backed away towards his motorbike, his keys hanging loosely at his side.

"I guess this would be my welcoming party…"

As he turned and raced towards his bike Kurtis heard the sound of car doors being opened behind him. He ignored it as he slammed in the kickstand, slid his keys in the ignition and swung his leg over the body of his motorbike. In an instant he had brought the thing around with much screeching of the tyres.

Amidst the row of cars before him stood Gunderson, who kept a hand lingering upon the open door of his vehicle. An amused smile was upon his face as he watched Kurtis ferociously revving his engine. Several soldiers emerged from their vehicles to join him, some wielding 9mms and others sub-machine guns.

"Give it up, Trent," Gunderson scoffed. "Did you really think that we'd fail to guard all of the exits?

Kurtis ignored the man's words, continuing to rev his engine as he searched desperately for an escape route. There was none: he was trapped behind an unmoving wall of vehicles. Obviously they expected him to surrender there and then, but it seemed that Gunderson had forgotten that he was a stubborn son of a bitch.

With a deafening roar Kurtis released his brakes, and his bike raced forwards. The smile disappeared from Gunderson's face as the motorbike hurtled towards him on a head on collision.

"Shoot out his tyres!" Gunderson yelled.

But it was too late. Just seconds before he collided with the cars before him Kurtis slammed on his brakes and brought his bike about in a tight turn, veering left and kicking one of the soldiers squarely in the chest. The man stumbled and fell with a grunt, and suddenly a space opened up between two of the vehicles. It was extremely narrow, but it was enough.

As bullets sparked around him Kurtis urged his bike to turn sharply and speed through this sudden gap. As he did so his handlebars caught the wing mirror of one of the vehicles and snapped it clean off. Panicked cries rose behind him as his bike lurched forwards over a speed bump, but Kurtis swiftly recovered its balance and roared on towards the nearby exit.

He gave a curse as he noticed the black-and-yellow parking barrier blocking his way. There was no time to slow down and lift it – the urgent screeching of tyres told him that his pursuers were coming straight after him.

_Well, _Kurtis thought to himself. _I guess here goes nothing._

And with his jaw clenched Kurtis twisted the throttle and urged his motorbike at high speed towards the barrier in his path. He did not dare to slow down even a fraction until the very last second. Then he suddenly turned his front wheel and spun the bike hard, leaning heavily to the left and sending the bike drifting sideways at speed. With the bike almost horizontal to the ground Kurtis roughly lowsided beneath the barrier, and with a swift application of the brakes and then the throttle he righted the bike again onto two wheels and spun in a half-circle, kicking up a spray of debris from the tarmac. Before his pursuers could even register what had happened Kurtis slammed the throttle and roared away again.

Darkness had descended early that evening, and the parking lot was bathed in the orange glow of street lamps as Kurtis searched frantically for the exit road. But he was not out of the woods yet. Suddenly there was a crack as the windscreen of a car shattered beside him. Kurtis cursed again and banked sharply to the right, realising that his pursuers were desperately trying to shoot out his tyres before he disappeared from their sight. With renewed speed he began to weave in and out of the rows of parked cars to shield his tyres from harm, all the while barrelling frantically towards the exit.

The closed barrier had thwarted Gunderson and his men for just long enough, and with some skill and just a little luck Kurtis eventually emerged from the hospital grounds unscathed. He slowed considerably as he approached the exit, praising the heavy traffic which made the streets of Prague so congested. A car sounded its horn impatiently as he swerved violently out onto the main street, and without once looking back Kurtis ducked into the traffic and ran a red light in his desperation to get away.

He did not slow again until he was convinced that he had lost his pursuers.

**XX****X**

About a mile out from the hospital Kurtis finally turned off the road and into an underground parking garage, switching off his engine and leaving his bike standing in a shadowy corner on basement level. With a hand to his stomach he approached the machine near the exit and forked out for a short-term ticket. He had no idea how long he would be here, but he knew that it would probably be best not to get too comfortable.

Near the stairwell door that led back out onto street level there was a payphone, illuminated by the red glow of the fire exit sign hanging above. Kurtis paused before it and delved into his back pocket, producing a fistful of coins and the piece of paper upon which Lara had scribbled down the contact details for the morgue in Paris.

Once he had carefully dialled Kurtis tapped his fingers anxiously against the payphone. He frowned as a computerised voice told him that the number did not exist. The paper in his hand rustled as Kurtis smoothed it out further, cradling the phone against his shoulder and trying the number again with the same frustrating result. After failing for the third time to get through Kurtis slammed down the receiver angrily.

Lara would not have given him a fake number – not after everything that they had been through together. That left only two options. Either Lara had written down the number incorrectly, or else the person who had phoned her was not from the morgue at all. After the events of that evening Kurtis knew without a doubt which option was true.

As he leant back against the wall Kurtis screwed up the piece of paper and pitched it into the darkness. Then he rummaged in his pocket and fished out a rather crumpled packet of cigarettes. It was almost empty, but he grudgingly slid one out and lit it up using his old Zippo lighter.

He only smoked out of habit, having started during his years in the Foreign Legion as a way to socialise with the other soldiers. It was not long before a couple of cigarettes a day had become his crutch, and whenever he was feeling nervous he would light one up and make a half-hearted promise to himself to quit.

With the cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth Kurtis lifted up his shirt to check his bandages. When he had reassured himself that he was not bleeding to death he took one last drag and then stomped out his cigarette with the heel of his boot. He could go no further this night, and it would be best to stay off the radar for as long as he could.

A dog-eared telephone directory hung from the payphone by a chain, and Kurtis began to urgently flick through it looking for cheap hotels. When he found a nearby listing he studied the address before tearing out the page and stuffing it into his back pocket, and then returned to his motorbike and removed the bedroll from its handlebars.

It had begun to snow as he cautiously emerged onto the street outside. Kurtis shivered a little as a cold wind picked up and nipped at his bare arms, and he pushed down the long sleeves of his shirt before thrusting one hand in his pocket, the other cradling the bedroll bundled beneath his arm. With his senses on guard he thus set off in search of a hotel, keeping his head down and praying that he would not be noticed by unfriendly eyes.

**XX****X**

The hotel where he ended up staying left a lot to be desired. Kurtis could not afford to be picky, however, for he did not have the cash flow necessary to stay at the Four Seasons. He needed somewhere to lie low for a while and recover whilst he planned his next move.

Kurtis opted for a room on ground level, deciding that if he needed to leave this place in a hurry it would be best not to find himself stuck on an upper floor without escape. His room itself was small and dingy, almost devoid of furniture save for a dresser, a chair and a cot which stood against the far wall and was covered with a moth-eaten blanket.

_So much for decoration,_ he mused, kicking the door shut behind him.

The bedroll from his motorbike Kurtis slung upon the bed. In the tiny en suite bathroom he washed the blood from his ravaged knuckles before splashing his face with cold water from the sink. As he gazed at his tired reflection in the mirror and dried his hands upon a towel he had to admit that he looked like hell.

Kurtis waited a long time for sleep to claim him. When he had stared at the dank ceiling for so long that his vision was beginning to blur he finally conceded defeat and returned to the lobby to watch the fuzzy black-and-white television set. A few tattered seats stood facing the set bracketed to the wall in the corner, currently showing a succession of commercials. Kurtis was just about to return to his room and stare at the ceiling some more when a news report suddenly flashed up.

It was obvious that the station had quickly scrambled to place a reporter on the scene, for a rather flustered-looking woman stood outside the entrance of Motol Hospital with one hand hovering at her ear piece. Kurtis could speak a little Czech from his extensive travels throughout Europe, but he needed no grasp of the language to understand what was happening. A number of squad cars stood behind her, and a solemn policeman could be seen standing in the background with his hands clasped behind his back. Along the bottom of the screen there ran a scrolling news bar as footage was shown of several witnesses being interviewed earlier that night.

A trace of emotion played across Kurtis' face as he watched the proceedings flash across the screen. The last witness to appear was a familiar woman with dark hair who spoke hurriedly into the microphone.

Kurtis leant forwards in his seat as he strove to catch what she was saying. The word _American_ was mentioned several times throughout her testimony, and footage from a CCTV image was then shown, although the image was indistinct and quite shaky with static. It showed a man as he emerged onto the stairwell and then descended out of the camera's range. The station showed this footage on loop as the woman spoke before freezing it and zooming in on his face. Kurtis was already slipping out of the lobby before anybody in the vicinity could put two and two together.

As he returned to his room Kurtis turned around and slowly closed the door behind him, resting his forehead against the jamb and giving an irritated sigh.

_Great,_ he thought, _As if I needed any press coverage today of all days._

He knew that he had had a very lucky escape today, and that many others at the hospital had not been so fortunate. The mercenary he had tackled near the elevator was right – he did have their blood on his hands.

As he turned away from the door Kurtis slowly pulled off his shirt, revealing his heavily bandaged torso as he sank down upon the edge of the cot. One of the nurses had sewn his shirt back together after it had been run through by Boaz's skewer, and he admired the hasty patch job as he slung the shirt across the nearby chair. Along with a first aid kit he carried several changes of clothes in the bedroll he kept tied to his motorbike's handlebars, but back at the hospital he had been forced to dress in something of a hurry.

Kurtis unfurled his bedroll and took out the first aid kit. Inside there were several rolls of bandages, some painkillers, disinfectant and a small pair of scissors; with halting movements Kurtis used these scissors to cut away the layers of bandages wrapped tightly about his abdomen.

He grimaced as he peeled away the last few strips. A jagged scar now ran from his navel down past the waistband of his pants, still slightly pink and latticed with row after row of stitches. They had been due to be removed the next day, but Kurtis decided to leave them in place for a little while longer. He was relieved to find that he had not reopened the wound after the stunts that he had pulled tonight, although there was some minor bruising at the sight of his injury. Using the disinfectant Kurtis carefully cleaned the area before redressing the wound with a fresh set of bandages.

When he was finished Kurtis took some of the painkillers and moved the contents of his bedroll onto the chair nearby. Then he gently lowered himself down onto the cot, his body a little battered but otherwise still intact. As he laid his head down upon the pillow and gazed up at the ceiling Kurtis tried his hardest to ignore the faint throbbing of pain in his abdomen.

Inevitably his thoughts drifted back to Lara, and he hoped that wherever she was at that moment she was faring a hell of a lot better than him.

**XX****X**

_Sorry about the lateness of this chapter; my computer decided to break for the second time this month, meaning it has been impossible for me to post... Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope this latest update makes up for the delay :)_


	9. The Prague City Archives

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

» **Chapter Eight: The Prague City Archives** »

* * *

If she'd known Kurtis had just been watching the exact same news report she might have been relieved. Actually, she would have kicked his ass for scaring her like that. As it was she now sat in a gloomy little bar, eyes glued to the television set in the corner. She didn't need to understand every word to get the gist of the news report; obviously they wanted Kurtis in for questioning about the events at the hospital. She knew straight away that the police barricade in place at the hospital had something to do with Karel and his wanting of Kurtis. 

She soon found her glass empty, and called for a refill. Absently she realised she'd been drinking a lot lately, and if she continued on like this any longer she might become an alcoholic. She raised an eyebrow at the thought and took a gulp of brandy, reassuring herself that she had way too much self-control for _that _to happen.

Two glasses later she left the bar, hugging her arms and cursing herself for wearing a tank top in this weather. Not that she had any other clothes to wear anyways. It was getting late and she decided to find somewhere to spend the night, checking into the first hotel she came to and practically throwing herself onto the bed. She fell asleep instantly, and when she woke up it was already late morning.

She took a shower and changed into her spare set of clothes, realising she was running out of clean garments. The majority of the morning and early afternoon was spent collecting information about Kurtis' whereabouts from the newspapers and television, but the Prague press had less of a clue then she did.

Not about to admit defeat, she decided to redirect her energies towards researching into the Nephilim, hoping to find some information about Karel and what he might need a Lux Veritatis warrior for. She found an internet café not far from her hotel and accessed the internet, typing in the word 'Nephilim' and clicking search. The page came up with 152,000 results and she audibly groaned, waving the waitress over and ordering a very strong cup of coffee.

* * *

Six hours and eight cups of coffee later, Lara had amassed an impressive stack of papers about the Nephilim. The majority of websites she had visited recounted the story of the Nephilim; their lust for the beautiful daughters of men, their relations with the aforementioned and the consequent offspring who had become known as the Nephilim.

When her eyes became too strained to read the bright screen in front of her, she decided it was time to leave and search through the information she had found back at her hotel. Besides, the waitress who had been serving her all day was clearly freaked out by her choice of internet surfing.

She unzipped her backpack and took out her mass of papers, dropping them onto the bed. She sat down cross-legged and began to look through them, hoping the word 'Lux Veritatis' would jump out at her.

After half an hour of looking she was about to give up and go get some food when the word 'Strahov' caught her eye. Tucking the loose hair which had fallen in front of her face behind her ears, she bent down and examined the page carefully. It read: "_Luther Rouzic is the acknowledged world authority on dead languages and texts. He is currently the Librarian Honorarium at Prague City Archives and keeper of the Strahov Archives. Rouzic is fluent in many ancient languages including Latin, Sanskrit and Hebrew, and has done extensive study into the legend of the Nephilim, or 'those who have fallen' in the language of Hebrew…_"

A fuzzy black and white photograph accompanied the writing, and Lara squinted her eyes to see it more clearly. Luther Rouzic appeared to be bald, wearing an immaculate black and white suit and had very dark and deep-set eyes which contrasted sharply with his pale skin. He did not look like the kind of character you'd want to meet in a dark alley.

Lara sat back on her heels, considering this new information. If Rouzic had been keeper of the Strahov Archives then he must have had something to do with Eckhardt and the Sleeper, and almost certainly knew something about Karel's current activities.

She chewed her lip in thought, leaning down and searching the page for an address for the Prague City Archives. She found one at the bottom of the page: "_Prague 1, Krakovska 11._"

She quickly folded the page and placed it back into her backpack. Loading up her Vector-R35, she slipped it into the holster on her right ankle and stocked her backpack with plenty of ammo and a few medkits. She had no idea how cooperative Rouzic was going to be, or even if he would just put a bullet through her head the moment she stepped inside the Archives. Either way, she wasn't going to take any chances.

* * *

It was 8 o'clock when she finally reached the address on the piece of paper clutched in her hand, and she slipped the thing into her back pocket and approached the entrance. From the outside the Archives looked like a regular library. A long sign over the entrance read, "_Prague City Archives_", a large set of double doors below this flanked on either side by two large pillars. 

She stepped forwards and pushed open one of the doors, wondering if she had just entered some long-forgotten library of the ancients. The floor before her was dark mahogany, lengths of red carpet running before her at intervals beside the hundreds of bookcases which seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

Everything was covered in dark, earthy colours and deep tones of red, and when she lifted her head to look at the ceiling she gasped. Beautiful intricate carvings covered the entirety of the ceiling; images of angels and saints and all manner of Biblical drawings. The ceiling itself was dome-shaped, so that the carvings curved around and hung down the walls.

She went inside further, beginning to read the text of a huge volume standing on a burnished lectern of mahogany. She was so immersed in the beautiful calligraphic words that she did not notice the person come up behind her.

"Miss?"

Lara visibly jumped, spinning around to find Luther Rouzic standing before her. In person he looked much the same as his picture, although this close up Lara noticed the red scratch marks which marred his right eye.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," Rouzic said hurriedly, "I was just wondering if you needed some help?"

_Either he has no idea who I am, _Lara thought, _Or he's one damn good actor._

"Er, I'm actually interested in the Book of Enoch," Lara told him, "I need to do some research on the subject."

Rouzic indicated he follow her, and Lara obeyed. Their footsteps over the floor seemed worryingly loud in the extensive room, and presently they had reached a long, although rather dusty stack marked 'Apocryphal Books'.

"I think you'll find everything you want to know in this section," Rouzic told her, waving an arm down the row, "May I ask what interests you in the Biblical tales?"

Lara, caught off guard by this question gave a very weak reply about the study being a hobby, and when Rouzic moved off to leave her to her own devices she could tell he was suspicious. In actual fact she'd mentioned the Book of Enoch because she'd come across the phrase several times in her research. She only wished to read about the Nephilim, and figured this was a good place to start. She might as well use the resources here, and then interrogate the librarian later.

She'd been searching for a good ten minutes, pulling down volume after volume and amassing a modest collection of books on the nearby table when she heard soft footsteps from behind a nearby stack.

She paused in her position at the end of the row and looked over towards the entrance, reassuring herself that Rouzic was sitting working at his desk. She heard the footsteps again however, and silently produced her Vector-R35 from the hidden holster at her ankle, flicking off the safety and raising it up to her shoulder.

She stole along the row, blessing the person who had put down the carpeting which quietened her footsteps and saw a glimpse of someone moving along the opposite row of shelves.

She flattened herself against the end of the bookcase, raising her gun and quickly turning the corner to take out her opponent. The person she saw there was definitely not who she had expected.

"Kurtis?"

**TBC...**

Ah, cliffhangers, how I love to torture you with them :) Since it is Christmas tomorrow, I thought I would post a chapter today and then another on Boxing Day. I already have the next chapter rewritten and am about to do the one after. Do not worry, there is a lot more of this story to come! Also, there was a joke in this chapter that only freaks like me would get. It is referencing an article in which Adrian Smith mentions they seriously considered making Lara an alcoholic. Oh well, I'm the only one who got it then... :s Merry Christmas!


	10. Cubiculum Nephili II

* * *

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

» **Chapter Nine: Cubiculum Nephili II **»

* * *

"Lara?" Kurtis asked, voice hushed as he lowered his Boran X, "What the hell are you doing here?" 

"Never mind me," Lara answered, holstering her own weapon, "What are _you _doing here?"

Kurtis leaned back against a stack, its shelves currently holding a collection of Biblical texts.

"Leading authority on the Nephilim?" He turned towards her, raising his eyebrows. "He's gotta know what Karel is up to."

Lara took that in and then frowned. Kurtis was leaning heavily against the stack, holding his side.

"Let me see," she murmured, moving forwards and meeting his gaze. He made no move to stop her as she slowly lifted his shirt, inspecting his bandaged torso. When she was happy with what she saw she let go of the fabric of his shirt, letting it fall back over his stomach.

"Your face is all over the news," she told him, breaking the silence.

"Tell me about it," he replied, "I've been chased all over the damn hospital by Karel and his men, and now I'm wanted by the police. Talk about a bad day." He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his already quite ruffled hair. Suddenly Lara noticed just how tired Kurtis looked.

"How did you get in?" she ventured, deciding not to voice her concern over his condition, "I take it you didn't just stroll in the front door."

Kurtis laughed.

"Nah, there's a service entrance in the warehouse," He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I sorta kinda broke in through the back."

Lara smiled.

"So much for subtlety."

Kurtis returned her smile, walking over and sitting down on the edge of the desk, by now piled high with books about the Nephilim.

"You never did answer my question," Kurtis said, "What _are _you doing here?"

"I came for the literature," Lara replied, folding her arms and putting on a scandalised look. Kurtis hiked an eyebrow at her. "Fine," she relented, "I came to beat some information out of the librarian."

"That sounds more like you Croft," he answered, twirling his Boran X about his fingers and sitting up from his position on the desk top, "Let's go kick some librarian ass."

"Wait a minute," Lara told him, striding over to the desk. She began to fill her backpack with as many books as possible. "There might be something in these books that can help us."

Kurtis simply stood still as she did the clasp on her backpack, swinging the thing over her shoulders.

"OK, let's go talk to the bastard."

"You mean _that_ bastard?" Kurtis asked, indicating behind her with a nod of his head.

Lara spun around and came face-to-face with Luther Rouzic. He held a pistol in his hands, and it was aimed straight at them.

"Don't move," Rouzic ordered, as Lara went for the concealed weapon at her ankle. "Put it on the floor."

Lara exchanged glances with Kurtis, before slipping her gun from its holster and placing it on the ground before her.

"You too," Rouzic said, indicating the Boran X still in Kurtis' hand, "Drop it!"

Kurtis raised an eyebrow.

"You wish."

Rouzic simply re-aimed his pistol at Lara.

"Either drop your weapon or her death will be on your conscience."

Without hesitating Kurtis dropped his Boran X. It landed on the carpeted flooring with a dull thud. Rouzic moved forward, his weapon aimed on the pair the whole time as he retrieved their weapons from the floor. He slipped the newly-acquired guns into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"I'm sure Master Karel will be very happy to know of your whereabouts Mr. Trent," Rouzic stated calmly, his tone holding a noticeable trace of malice.

Lara and Kurtis managed to snatch a glance at each other.

_He doesn't know about the Chirguai!_

"What has Karel offered you to help him out?" Lara asked, drawing Rouzic's attention away from Kurtis, "A million pound fortune? Eternal life? A pet Nephilim?" She made a clawing motion down the side of her face. "You've got a bit of a scratch... Don't play nice do they?"

Rouzic's eyes blazed with anger, and it looked as though he would have shot Lara there and then, if not for the Chirguai which suddenly flew at his head. He barely managed to avoid the bladed disc in time, and the distraction was enough for Kurtis to rear back and smash his fist into Rouzic's face. The librarian reeled back from the blow, and Lara took the opportunity to kick the weapon out of his hand. She then spun around and delivered a hard roundhouse kick to his chest.

The kick knocked Rouzic off his feet, and he fell to the ground a few metres away with a thud. Lara quickly moved over to his unmoving form, placing a booted foot on top of his neck. She then proceeded to retrieve their weapons from within Rouzic's jacket, removing her foot when her gun was once again in her hands.

Kurtis took his Boran X from Lara, replacing his Chirguai at his waist and aiming the gun straight towards the librarian at his feet.

"What is Karel up to?" he demanded, "What the fuck does he want with me?"

Rouzic simply smirked.

"I have no idea," he answered, "I am but a humble librarian."

Kurtis did not seem to find this funny, and released the safety on his Boran X.

"What is Karel up to?" he repeated, "What do you know?" When Rouzic continued to remain silent, Kurtis unclasped the Chirguai from his belt and let the bladed disc hover at his shoulder. "I wonder what your face would look like with a couple more scratches down the left-hand side? Might just create some kind of symmetry."

Rouzic looked hard into the Lux Veritatis' eyes and realised he was deadly serious.

"There's some files," he said finally, redirecting his gaze towards Lara, "On my computer. Karel was looking at them the last time he was here."

Lara took that in. "What is in these files?" she asked.

"I don't know," was the reply, "I wasn't allowed to look at the actual files, but I'm pretty sure they have something to do with the Lux Veritatis."

Kurtis was silent for a moment.

"Fine. Get up," he ordered, "Show us these files."

Rouzic got slowly to his feet, and Kurtis led the way to the librarian's desk as Lara walked at the rear, Vector-R35 pressed up to the back of Rouzic's head. She forced the man into the leather swivel chair in front of his desk, keeping her gun at his head.

"Open the files," she told him.

Rouzic gave her a wary look. She pressed her weapon a bit harder into his head.

"Do not mess with me Luther," she hissed.

The librarian redirected his attention to the computer screen before him, fingers flying furiously across the keyboard. After a few more seconds of typing a dialog box flashed up on the screen.

"I need a password to get in," he said, turning his head slightly to look at Lara.

"Let me guess, you don't know the password."

He shook his head.

"Jesus," Kurtis breathed, "Just hack into the system or something."

"That might take a bit longer," Rouzic told him.

"How much longer?" Lara replied.

"About ten minutes."

Lara rubbed her temples in frustration. She was sure the damn librarian was doing this on purpose.

"Alright," she said finally, "You've got ten minutes to get in. Any longer and-" She waved her gun threateningly.

Rouzic nodded.

Lara and Kurtis went and sat on a nearby desk whilst the librarian attempted to hack into the system. They were near enough so that he could not slip away unnoticed, and Lara continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye as she spilled the contents of her backpack onto the desk.

"Take off your shirt," she told Kurtis, and, although puzzled by the request, he did so, pulling the fabric over his head and revealing his bandaged stomach.

"I'm gonna have to rewrap the wound," she offered as an explanation, "You've been holding your side this entire time. Don't think I haven't noticed."

Kurtis sighed.

"Fine, I'm in pain. You don't need to go on about it."

Lara simply smiled at him as she unwound the linen from his stomach. A few of his stitches had come undone and there was a small amount of bleeding, but no cause for significant alarm.

"I've met a lot of men in my time," she said, washing away the blood with some water and spare bandage from her medkit, "You're all the same... Never want to admit when you're weak."

"I am not weak!" Kurtis replied, and then proceeded to cry out as Lara prodded his tender stomach.

She smirked at him.

"Bitch," he muttered, watching as she wound a fresh layer of bandages around his torso. He snatched a glance over his shoulder to make sure Rouzic had not sneaked off. He was still sitting at his desk, typing away.

"What are you gonna do with our little friend over there?" Kurtis asked.

Lara finished wrapping his stomach, knotting the linen at the side so it would hold in place.

"I don't know," she answered, beginning to pack everything back into her backpack, "I've already been wanted for murder once this month. Not too ecstatic about going there again."

Kurtis pulled on his shirt and opened his mouth to say something but a loud 'Aha!' from behind interrupted him. Lara scooped up her backpack and they both hurried over to see Rouzic's progress.

"I'm in," he proclaimed, pressing a key and bringing up a folder full of documents.

Lara began to scan the screen before her, looking for anything of relevance. Suddenly something caught her eye.

"Open that one," she told him, pointing at a folder marked 'Cubiculum Nephili II'.

Rouzic clicked on the icon, bringing up a page full of unintelligible rune-like text.

"Bugger," Lara said, "Can you translate this?"

Rouzic squinted his eyes and looked at the screen.

"Yes," he affirmed, "Although only half of the original text is here."

"What does it say?" Kurtis asked impatiently.

"It says..." Rouzic scanned the screen, "_The blood of the Order will bring forth their race, given as a sacrifice in the very heart of their realm. And they will spill over the Earth, pillaging and burning and destroying, and the sons of Men will cower before them and be afraid. So it is written and so it shall be."_

**TBC...**

Sorry for not updating yesterday like I said I would, I was really really ill. I think it was because of too much christmas food and too many late nights...Updates for this story might take a bit longer soon. I'm going to have write a lot of filler between the next few chapters, since I had not completed some of this story. I have the most important chapters down though, so hopefully it won't take too long. Oh, and just so you know, this story is going to have a sequel! I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but obviously the next story is going to take a lot longer to write since I am starting from scratch...


	11. Extraction

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

» **Chapter Ten: Extraction** »

* * *

All three were silent for a moment, letting this new information sink in. Kurtis was the first to break the silence. 

"What is "_their realm_"?"

"The text is probably referring to the underground cities in Cappadocia," Rouzic answered, shifting in his seat, "That's where the Nephilim were supposedly cast after their banishment from heaven."

Lara nodded her head. "I've heard of these cities, but I didn't know they had anything to do with the Nephilim."

"So," Kurtis put in, "Karel has to make his sacrifice in one of these underground cities?"

"Yes," Rouzic told him.

"Well, aren't there about 40 of these cities?" Lara asked,"How are we supposed to know which city is the right one?"

"Last time he was here Master Karel mentioned that he had a team busy excavating in Cappadocia. At the time I did not know what this meant, but I suppose they are excavating the city mentioned in the text."

"So," Lara said, catching on, "Basically we just look out for the huge excavation site in the desert?"

Rouzic nodded.

"Lara," Kurtis whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her off to the side, "You sound as though we're going to go found this city."

"Well, what did you expect?" she answered, confused.

"As far as I see it, we have two choices. Either find some way to kill Karel and prevent this ritual or hide our asses on the other side of the globe. Since there is no way to actually kill Karel, I'm leaning heavily towards the running away option."

"Kurtis," Lara answered seriously, "I am aware of our limited options here," She stood silently for a moment. "I think a realistic option here would be to go to Cappadocia, find this excavation site and total it. That way we can at least buy some time."

"You don't agree with my running away idea?"

"Get real here Kurtis; Karel's gonna tear the world apart looking for you. Do you really want anyone's deaths on your conscience?"

Kurtis was silent for a while, staring at his feet. Lara was about to repeat herself, when he lifted his gaze to meet hers. In his eyes she saw real fear.

"It's just," he paused, trying to find a way to organise his thoughts, "After Eckhardt killed my father that was it. That was the end of the Lux Veritatis. Except for me. I'm the only one left, and if Karel does this ritual… That's hundreds of years of our Order gone… All those men and women who gave their lives, it'll have been for nothing." There was a long pause before he added, "There'll be no-one else left to fight the Nephilim."

Lara stepped forwards, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"_I_ will fight them," she told him, "We _both_ will. I promise."

Kurtis slowly nodded. They both continued to stare at each other, until Lara awoke from her reverie.

"Luther…" she started, but then trailed off when she took in the letters on the computer screen, "I've seen this writing before," she said suddenly, moving back to the desk, "It was on a huge stone slab inside the Strahov." She used the mouse to zoom in on the text. "It was underneath a huge saw. I accidentally triggered the machine and it started cutting the stone in half."

"That's probably why only half of the original text is here," Kurtis said, "The rest must have been too damaged to translate," He looked over at Lara. "Nice one Croft."

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly, "But at least this way Karel knows as little as we do."

Kurtis shrugged in reply.

Light suddenly flooded the cavernous room. Lara and Kurtis looked up from the computer screen in shock to the sound of dozens of automatic rifles being armed. They both hurriedly raised their guns and aimed them in the direction of the noise.

"Oh shit," Kurtis said. A dozen masked commandos appeared before them, weapons converging on the pair.

"I take it you're not here to return a library book?" Lara quipped.

There was a noise behind them, and both turned to see Rouzic had bolted from his chair.

"Damn librarian," Lara muttered, watching as Rouzic moved to safety behind the commandos.

"You should have shot him when you had the chance," Kurtis added, exchanging looks with her.

Lara was about to reply when the line of commandos separated, allowing a figure to step forwards from behind their ranks. It was a figure the both of them recognised immediately.

"Mr. Trent," Marten Gunderson said, smiling, "You are a smart man. I trust you to cooperate with us fully. Otherwise-"

He waved his arm and every single commando aimed their weapon at Lara.

She seemed unmoved.

"Surrender your weapons Trent. They will be of no further use to you."

Kurtis, still keeping hold of his Boran X, turned his head towards Lara.

"You've gotta go," he told her, ignoring the hostile presence before him for the moment, "If I give up then they'll shoot, but if I don't they'll shoot anyway."

Lara thought quickly.

"Mr. Trent?" Gunderson said, "I am getting impatient."

"You distract them," she whispered, "They can't shoot you. I'm gonna make for this service exit of yours."

Kurtis nodded.

"Mr. Trent? You have five seconds before we open fire."

Kurtis turned back towards Gunderson and his men.

"Five."

Lara scanned her surroundings for a quick escape route.

"Four."

Kurtis closed his eyes, feeling for the connection between himself and his Chirguai.

"Three."

Lara looked at Kurtis, meeting his eyes.

"Two."

The Chirguai ripped free of its restraints.

"One."

Lara quickly ducked down behind the desk as a barrage of rifle fire was directed at her. A scream rent the air as the Chirguai found a target. Kurtis began firing his Boran X at the men.

"Go! Now!" he yelled over the noise.

Lara rushed out from behind the desk, gun blazing as she made for the cover of the nearby stacks. The distraction was enough, and she got away unscathed.

She snatched a quick glance over her shoulder. Kurtis was still holding his own. She cursed as she heard Gunderson yell for the soldiers to find and kill her.

Quickening her pace, she raced down the length of a bookcase, turning at the end and cutting across the width of the room. In this way she managed to escape the soldiers who were seeking her, and doubled back towards the entrance. Kurtis was still holding off a number of soldiers, and Lara managed to pick off a few from her vantage point.

There was a shout, and Lara quickly flung herself behind a stack as the men fired at her. The soldiers were so busy shooting at her, Kurtis managed to slip away from the desk and make a break for the shelter of the stacks. Bullets impacted into the wall beside him, but none met their mark.

"Hey," Kurtis breathed, once he had made it to Lara's position, "Let's get the fuck out of here shall we?"

Lara didn't need telling twice, and sprinted after Kurtis, who led the way towards the service exit through which he had entered the Archives. The two were moving at such a break-neck speed that any soldiers who fired at them missed their target by miles.

They reached the back of the Archives, and Kurtis did not miss a step, lifting a palm and mentally blasting the door before them off its hinges.

They both raced through the newly created exit, and found themselves in a blue hallway. Before them were three doors; two obviously leading to toilets, but Kurtis ignored the third and started down the stairway on their right. Lara did not hesitate, following Kurtis as he raced down.

They emerged in another hallway, this time longer and with noticeably more doors set down its length. Kurtis did not slow however, and Lara found she had to quicken her pace to keep up with him. Maybe it was the fear concerning the Lux Veritatis which spurred him on; she wasn't sure.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a bullet whizzed dangerously near her ear and impacted into the wall. She urged herself faster, making it around the next corner just in time.

A hand grabbed her arm, pulling her into a darkened room. She was about to cry out when she realised it was only Kurtis. He put a finger up to his lips, signalling to her to be quiet as the soldiers passed their hiding place.

"What now?" she said, once she was sure the men were out of earshot.

"I don't know," Kurtis answered, "I'm kinda making this up as I go along."

They both stayed stock still as more soldiers ran down the corridor.

"They're gonna have all the exits covered," Kurtis told her, moving forward and peering around the doorway. The corridor was now empty. "I think that was the last of them," he continued, turning back to her, "I think we took out about four of them before. That leaves eight more to deal with." He was silent for a moment. "We're gonna have to double back. I don't think they all followed us back here. The entrance is gonna be only lightly guarded."

Lara nodded in agreement.

Kurtis checked down the corridor once more before venturing out of the room, indicating to Lara that she follow.

**TBC...**

Damn, this chapter has changed drastically since I first wrote it... Oh well, I prefer this version :) It is so hard to write these action scenes, especially since I have a penchant for writing myself into corners... Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and in regards to Luther Rouzic: Did it ever occur to you that I simply used an existing (although unused) character because I have no imagination of my own? :s No, seriously, I kept looking at his picture on the web and thought, "God damn that dude is scary. I wish he had been in AoD!" So putting him into my story was like the next best thing to do... Ten chapters? Am I into double digits already? This story has just whizzed past hasn't it? :D


	12. Stealth Tactics

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

»**Chapter Eleven: Stealth Tactics **»

* * *

An eerie silence now lay over the Archives, broken only by Lara and Kurtis' soft, quick footfalls over the carpeted flooring. The corridor they now moved down was illuminated by overhead lighting, accentuating the blue walls and metallic tiled floor and ceiling. Everything was so sterile back here, whereas the Archives themselves were dusty, old, almost ghostly in their vastness. 

Lara had not spoken a word since she ventured from the safety of the darkened room, but then again neither had Kurtis. Even as she moved further away from the soldiers who had been pursuing them earlier, she still found herself straining her ears, listening hard for any sign that they might be back.

They began to climb the stairs they had moments ago just run down. The door leading back into the Archives lay broken on the floor.

"Wait," Lara cautioned, grabbing Kurtis' arm and stopping him from stepping into the doorway, "The whole room is lit up like a Dutch brothel. Any soldiers waiting out there are gonna have a pretty clear target."

Kurtis nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna have to scout ahead," he said.

Kurtis raised his arms before him, palms facing outwards and closed his eyes. Lara just watched with mild apprehension. Kurtis had told her the extent of his powers during his hospital visit, and she knew that using his farsee ability was going to drain a lot of his energy. The fact that he looked so fatigued to begin with only added to her worry.

After a few minutes Kurtis returned to his body, opening his eyes and sighing from the effort. He turned to Lara with a smile on his face.

"There's three soldiers in total, all guarding the main entrance. We should be able to deal with them easily."

"How?" Lara asked, "Like I said, we're hardly gonna be inconspicuous. It'd be like walking in there with a target painted on your head."

Kurtis was silent for a moment.

"We're just gonna have to improvise then,"he replied. Lara watched as he raised his Boran X, took aim and squeezed the trigger. One of the many lights lining the walls of the Archives shattered.

"Kurtis!" she whispered urgently, pushing his weapon down so that he could not fire again, "What are you doing?!"

"Sshh," he answered, putting a finger to his lips and indicating that she watch.

She did so, and noticed one of the three soldiers come into view, obviously investigating the shattered light. He was near enough to take aim at, but the noise was still going to attract the others. Lara was about to voice this worry when Kurtis reached into his back pocket and produced a circular piece of metal. He proceeded to screw this onto the barrel of his weapon, and Lara did not need to question any further. Silencer.

Once his weapon was equipped Kurtis then took aim at the nearby guard, who soon fell silently to the ground with a soft thud. The soldiers at the door never noticed their dying comrade.

Kurtis turned back to Lara, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't hear that," he whispered, "Maybe I better check again…"

"No Kurtis," Lara told him, putting a hand on his arm, "You're gonna collapse if you use your farsee again. _I'll _check."

Kurtis was confused.

"But, Lara-"

"Sshh," was all she said, mimicking his earlier action of putting a finger to her lips. Silently she raised her Vector-R35 and pressed her back to the wall, so that she was standing right at the edge of the doorway. Then, with a speed that impressed Kurtis, she stepped out into the doorway, gun before her, quickly spun on the spot and ended up on the other side of the doorway.

She looked at Kurtis with a smile on her lips.

"All clear," she stated, "They're having a conversation about something. Neither one is even facing this doorway."

Kurtis nodded. "OK then Croft, lead the way."

Lara gave him one last look as if to say 'Trust me' before stepping into the Archives. Quickly she moved behind the cover of a nearby stack. Peering around the corner of this bookcase she checked on the soldiers once again. They were still talking.

A moment later Kurtis joined her behind the bookcase, thankfully without alerting the soldiers to their presence. They both moved down the outermost line of bookcases, sneaking up on the soldiers from the left-hand side of the room. Both moved as quickly and as quietly as possible, Kurtis now leading the way.

_He's done this sort of thing before, _Lara thought, watching the effortless way Kurtis peered around the corner and took out both of the guards.

"Come on!" Kurtis urged her, now that the doorway was clear. Lara did follow, slowly at first, since a few quite disturbing thoughts had entered her mind. She shook them off however, when she heard the distant, but growing sounds of the other soldiers, coming from the back of the Archives.

"Lara!" Kurtis called, already with the door ajar, showing a glimpse of night-time Prague. "We've got to go!"

Lara just nodded and raced after him out of the doorway, hit once again by the sheer cold of another snowy Prague night. A line of unmarked black vehicles were parked outside the entrance to the Archives. She left deep footprints in the snow as she followed Kurtis' lead, who was by now rounding a corner of the building into a narrow alley.

"Kurtis, where the hell are you going?" The words had barely left her mouth when she turned the corner after him and found his motorbike leaning against the alley wall, Kurtis already on it with the engine roaring.

"Get on, quickly!" he told her, and quickly was right, as the second Lara had got on the bike behind him and hooked an arm about his waist, the remaining soldiers burst forth from the Archives, hot on their trail. Kurtis slammed the throttle as high as it would go and the motorbike roared forwards with even greater speed. At first the soldiers attempted to shoot out Kurtis' tyres, but he had already encountered this problem yesterday, and simply weaved out of the line of fire. A rapid burst of machine gun fire soon ceased and Lara turned her head, braid whipping behind her to see the men whe piling into the black vehicles.

"They're coming after us," Lara said unhelpfully.

"Fuck it," Kurtis replied, snatching a quick glance back as he hunched low over the bike's handlebars, "And there isn't even any traffic at night."

There were racing towards a junction and she recognized the road, having traveled this way earlier today.

"Go right," she told him, having to practically shout the words over the roaring of the engine.

Kurtis did so, turning the bike and cutting a sharp right turn. They were traveling way too fast on already icy roads, but at the moment neither one of them were really concerned about road safety.

The road they were on continued onwards for some way, and Lara ordered Kurtis to keep going until he reached a pharmacy. At this particular building she instructed him to take a left and then another right afterwards. In this manner they reached the street on which Lara's hotel was situated.

"OK," Lara continued, "The hospital is only about two streets away. After that, my knowledge of Prague gets a little hazy."

They reached the hospital in less than two minutes, and at this point Kurtis had to slow down.

"Which way is the city limits?" he asked, looking concernedly over his shoulder again.

Lara craned her neck to read the road signs she knew were just opposite the hospital.

"Err, city limits are straight ahead," she answered.

Kurtis gunned the throttle and the motorbike raced off in that direction. They passed a number of traffic lights along the way, but did not even blink an eyelid at them. Kurtis was already wanted by the police in this city, so speeding wasn't exactly going to harm an otherwise spotless record.

"I think we lost them," Lara told him, squinting into the distance before turning back to Kurtis, "Or we've at least put a bit of distance between us and them."

Kurtis did not reply, and both were silent for a few moments.

"Kurtis?" Lara finally said.

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean we're going to Turkey?"

There was a pause. Kurtis turned his head slightly.

"Yeah."

Lara smiled.

"Fantastic," There was another pause, longer this time, before she added, "I knew you wouldn't stick to your guns on that running away scheme."

"Well," was the reply, "Let's keep that as a Plan B shall we?"

Lara simply nodded, her earlier thoughts forgotten, as she rested her head on Kurtis' shoulder and gripped his waist a bit tighter.

"Absolutely."

**TBC...**

Hmm, I wonder what these strange thoughts are that Lara is having? Do not fret, it will be addressed in the next chapter! :D Oh, and that cool move Lara did to check if the coast was clear is called a SWAT turn. It's a nifty little move that was inspired by Splinter Cell 2. Oh how I love it! Also the part where Kurtis shoots the light was taken from SC too... I wrote myself into a corner and thought, "What would Sam Fisher do in this situation?" So there you go! Computer games _are_ educational! :)

lara-n-kurtis - Thank you for all your comments! :) I hope I updated this soon enough for you!

Acid-Rush - Thank you! Yes, I do love blowing things up in Tomb Raider, especially at the end of Bartoli's Hideout! :D


	13. Disharmony

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

»**Chapter Twelve: Disharmony **»

* * *

It was now past midnight, and although they had been travelling for less than two hours, Lara had insisted they stop for the night. 

"Don't you think they're going to check every hotel from here to Turkey?" Kurtis had argued, still driving the motorbike.

"Kurtis, you're about to drop off the bike any minute," Lara had answered, "I really don't feel like scraping your blood and guts off of the roadside."

"OK, fine," Kurtis sighed, realising this woman had _way_ too much control over him, "What are we gonna do about accommodation then?"

"We'll just find the darkest, most unknown place there is," she had replied, glancing to the side at the buildings they passed, "A place that isn't even going to count as a hotel."

Kurtis had shrugged, before turning off onto a side road, heading towards a populated area.

"You're the tomb raider."

* * *

It didn't take long for them to find their abode for the night. If possible the place looked even more pathetic than the hotel Kurtis had stayed in the night before. The one-storey building sat in between a Laundromat and what seemed to be a row of storage garages. The windows were barred, having lost the glass panes to vandals years ago. Graffiti adorned the outside walls, lending the appearance of an abandoned house rather than a motel. One lone neon 'E' flashed forlornly above the doorway, and they had only realised it was a motel when Kurtis pointed out that the other letters must be broken. 

"Home sweet home," Kurtis muttered, stepping into the tiny single room that he and Lara had procured. A rickety-looking deck chair stood in the corner next to a wooden desk, a flickering lamp standing upon the bedside table.

"Oh, come on," Lara joked, shutting the door behind her and walking over to the bed, "It may not be much but it's home."

Kurtis simply rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

The bed itself was actually a real bed, and Lara sat down on it, thankful for the comfort it offered.

"Bed's alright," Lara told Kurtis, who had pulled back a curtain from the room's barred window, looking right into the alley behind the Laundromat.

Kurtis made no answer, but walked over and sat down next to Lara on the bed.

"You've been sitting on that motorbike too long," he said finally, standing up again and walking over to the bedside table. He unclipped his Chirguai from his waist, placing this onto the bedside table along with his Boran X and some additional ammo.

"I'm going in the shower," he told her, "Better have another look at these stitches too."

"Here," Lara offered, taking off her backpack and pulling out a medkit.

"Thanks. Are you wanting the bed tonight? I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"No, that's OK, you can take the bed. I was gonna stay up anyways. I want to start reading through everything I salvaged from the Archives. Besides, one of us needs to keep watch in case they find us."

"Sure," Kurtis replied, giving her a smile as he headed towards the bathroom door. He was just about to turn the handle when he added: "Are you not even the slightest bit tired?"

Lara picked up a book, sitting down in the deckchair with her legs propped up on the desk and crossed at the ankles.

"Let's just say I'm highly caffeinated right now."

Kurtis gave her an amused smile before disappearing into the bathroom.

* * *

The night was growing old. For several hours now Lara had been reading through her salvaged texts on the Nephilim. Presently she closed the page she was looking at with frustration, throwing it back on top of the small pile of books collected on the desk. Dim lighting aside, Lara was finding it hard to concentrate on the words before her. She hadn't found anything new to help them. Nothing on the Lux Veritatis. Nothing on the Cubiculum Nephili. Absolutely nothing. 

"Bugger," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. The candle by which she had been reading had burnt low in its holder, throwing dancing shadows across the walls. Kurtis was by now fast asleep, having emerged from the bathroom showered and exhausted some hours before. Currently he lay asleep, turned towards Lara with his bare arms resting outside of the bed covers. She gave him a lingering look, noticing the heavy lines under his eyes.

After a moment Lara finally uncrossed her legs, lowered them from the desk and got up from her chair. Eight cups of coffee had finally had an undesired effect on her system.

Whilst in the bathroom, washing her hands in the chipped and dirty basin, she wiped a hand across the mirror. Some of the grime lifted away at her touch and she saw her pale, haggard reflection staring back at her. She slumped her shoulders and sighed.

"I just wish this was all over," she whispered to herself, wiping at the mirror again. The glass cleared a bit and her reflection shone through.

She frowned, drying her hands and leaning against the edges of the basin. Closing her eyes she had a sudden surge of memories. Most were random images from the last few weeks but one memory stuck in her mind.

Suddenly her eyes widened in shock, and she turned quickly from the mirror. When she reached the bathroom door, she hesitated for a second, hand hovering above the handle.

Was she being crazy?

She stood still for a moment, thinking hard. Then she made up her mind, turning the handle and pushing the door open. The room before her was dark, the only source of light coming from the dying candle in the corner. Quickly Lara shut off the bathroom light and slipped quietly into the room proper, shutting the door behind her as silently as possible.

Kurtis was obviously fast asleep still, and yet Lara's footsteps were quiet and careful as she sneaked across the length of the room. Upon the bedside table lay Kurtis' Boran X, his Chirguai and some spare clips of ammo. This wasn't what interested Lara however.

Kurtis' trousers lay across the end of the bed, along with his shirt. For a brief second Lara realized Kurtis was practically naked beneath the bed sheets. She shook her head, scolding herself for having such thoughts and carefully lifted up Kurtis' trousers so as not to wake him.

Patting the pockets she found a number of items inside, along with an oversized pocket on the back. Curious, she rummaged around and pulled out a black wallet.

Checking that Kurtis was still asleep Lara flipped open the wallet. Inside she found a few notes, a number of credit cards and Kurtis' ID card. It was displayed inside a transparent plastic flap, and Lara studied it closely.

_Last name: Trent_

_First name(s): Kurtis,_

_Nationality: American_

_Country of Origin: United States of America_

Everything else on the card was simply signatures and dates.

_Well, _Lara thought, eying Kurtis' photo closely, _At least he's been honest with me so far. But this doesn't explain away everything…_

Unsatisfied with the results of her search, Lara unconsciously ran a thumb over Kurtis' ID, staring at the card and chewing her lip in thought. Suddenly something caught her eye and, frowning, she lifted up the transparent flap and pulled out the ID card. By doing so a number of other cards fell out onto the floor. She quickly knelt down, meaning to pick them up, but stopped short when she saw the cards in more detail.

"Oh God," she breathed, picking up the cards and shuffling through them in disbelief.

"Lara?"

Quick as lightning Lara had drawn her gun, spinning where she knelt and dropping the cards all over the floor again. She looked down the barrel-end of her gun to find Kurtis sat up in bed, looking extremely confused and just a little scared.

"Lara?" he asked, pushing himself up by his hands, "What the hell is going on?" When Lara did not lower her weapon he added, "What's wrong?!"

"Who are you?" Lara answered, her voice barely a whisper. The look in her eyes was deadly cold and her voice held an obvious tone of fear and disgust. Both sent shivers down Kurtis' spine.

"What the hell are you talking about Croft? You know who-"

"WHO ARE YOU?!" she screamed at him, reaching down with a hand, picking up the cards and throwing them at Kurtis. He had to duck to avoid a number hitting him in the head.

"Lara I…" His words trailed off as he looked down at one of the cards before him. "Oh, shit. This isn't what it looks like."

"Then what is it Kurtis? If that it is your name huh? Who the hell are you?!"

Kurtis looked down at all of the fake IDs on the bed, rubbing at his eyes in frustration.

"I swear. Everything I've told you about myself is true. My name is Kurtis Trent. These other IDs are just left over."

Lara planted her feet, by now standing up, her Vector-R35 still held before her and aimed straight at Kurtis.

"Left over from what Kurtis?"

He sighed heavily, knowing he would have to tell her eventually.

"Work," he said finally, sighing again, "They're left over from a few odd jobs I did a while back."

"Odd jobs?" she repeated, as though she were talking to an idiot, "So exactly what kind of jobs were they?"

"Semi-legal," he answered, gazing warily at the weapon still trained on him.

"Semi-legal? So basically you were involved in something _illegal_."

"Lara, you have to understand. That was years ago. I was young, stupid… I needed the money."

Lara did not look convinced.

"What kind of work was it?"

"Lara, I'm telling you-"

"What kind of work?!"

"Mercenary," Kurtis relented, shifting where he sat. This whole situation was getting out of hand.

Lara held a look of shock and horror. The gun wavered in her hands, and yet she did not put it down. He now noticed she was still holding one of the fake IDs.

"A mercenary," she repeated, quietly this time, "And you worked for Gunderson as well." She looked down at the remaining ID in her hand, before throwing it at him with disgust. "You killed people for money. You worked for evil men like him. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right here and right now."

There was silence for a while. The whole time Lara kept her weapon trained on Kurtis without hesitation.

"You can't do this alone," was Kurtis' reply, breaking the silence.

He was right and Lara knew it. After a moment she simply gave up, lowering her gun and collapsing into the nearby chair. Kurtis simply watched her carefully, by now sitting on the edge of the bed in his boxers with the covers drawn back. The situation was too serious for either to be embarrassed about his current state of undress.

"When the hell were you going to tell me about all of this?" she finally said, looking at him through tired eyes, "We've known each other for a while now. We're not exactly the closest of friends but I would have thought you wouldn't keep something like _this _from me!"

Kurtis was silent, hanging his hands about his neck and screwing his eyes shut. They had been getting along so well just a few short hours ago.

"I wanted to tell you Lara, honest. I just didn't know how you were going to react. I really need your help and I know you need mine. All this stuff is in the past and I've paid my dues. Please just trust me."

Lara shook her head slightly. She looked away from him, not wanting him to see that she was fighting back tears.

"Lara…"

"Just… Just give me a little time OK?" was her answer, and before Kurtis knew it she had walked the length of the room, opened the door and disappeared out of it. He stood up to go after her but decided against it, knowing he would probably only make things worse. Instead he walked over and shut the door, crossing the room and lying down on the mattress on the floor. It was the least he could do to give her the bed tonight.

"Damn," he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling.

**TBC...**

Since it's taken me longer to update I thought I'd treat you with an extra long chapter! I'm back at school now so it depends how much time I get on an evening to write as to whether I can update during the week. I'll definitely be writing at the weekend though. I'm not sure how many chapters this story is going to end up having but I do know things are going to get a lot more urgent _very _soon...

Angel Trent2 - Thank you! I have never really been confident with my writing of action scenes. Since you're liking it I will definitely write more.

Acid Rush - What can I say? I try to update as soon as possible for my loyal reviewers. And yes, do go force that Splinter Cell demo onto your laptop! lol

Lady Lara Croft - Yay! Thank you! And happy new year to you... Or more correctly happy, em, year lol It's not exactly new anymore.

SilverDragon67 - hehe I'm glad you enjoyed my references to Splinter Cell. I hope I updated soon enough for you!

lara-n-kurtis - lol I don't know how you're going to feel about this last chapter but remember: Sexual Tension equals Interesting storytelling! Good things come to those who wait...


	14. Bliss In Ignorance

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

»**Chapter Thirteen: Bliss In Ignorance » **

**

* * *

**

Outside of the motel the night air was bitterly cold. Undeterred, Lara ventured out of the back entrance, finding herself in a narrow alley opposite the Laundromat. She sat down on a low flat seat against the alley wall, hugging her arms to her chest and battling back the tears which threatened to fall.

It felt so long since she had been free. She missed the thrill of exploring unknown tombs; the adrenaline of racing from danger; the risk of taking a running leap and _just_ reaching the edge… It was so long ago since she had simply been Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Without any responsibility. Without doubts or fear for the safety of others. Everything had changed since Egypt. Before that tomb had collapsed around her Lara sometimes felt as though she were invincible. Then reality had come crashing down, burying her in a darkness so deep and profound she had never really been able to escape from it.

She sighed, putting her head in her hands and dropping her shoulders.

Since Egypt the shadow of death had followed her wherever she went. It may have haunted her, but it seemed to take the lives of those she surrounded herself with, leaving her behind to experience the misery.

Werner had been killed right in front of her. True, she'd been unconscious at the time, but when she awoke it was to find Werner's lifeless body and for _her_ hands to be covered in his blood. The police had believed she was responsible for Werner's death, and in a lot of ways she _did_ feel responsible. If only she had been faster, better, smarter…

She ran her hands over her face, wiping at the tears which had collected there. She knew there was probably nothing she could have done to save Werner. She was no match for Karel regardless of her state of consciousness. She simply wished they had not parted on such bad terms…

The thought made her mind stray back to Kurtis, and she angrily continued to wipe at her tear-strained face. Sure, Werner had made a lot of bad choices, but in the end he really was a decent human being…

Lara scowled at herself, pulling her mind away from such thoughts. Was she really vouching for Von Croy? Was she seriously justifying Werner leaving her in that godforsaken tomb, to be buried alive?

_God_, she thought, dropping her arms to her sides and gripping the edge of her seat, _I'm going soft. If I can't forgive Werner then why do I want to forgive Kurtis?_

She had suspected foul play ever since she had noticed his abilities back at the Archives. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and the way he had disposed of the guards so efficiently suggested past experience in work that was anything but legal. At first she had dismissed these suspicions as ungrounded and preposterous, but now she had been proved right.

She got up from her seat in frustration, beginning to pace back and forth along the snow-covered ground. She had long forgotten about the biting cold of the night air. Her thoughts were entirely taken over by a certain American.

"God dammit, Kurtis," she muttered angrily, kicking the alley wall with a booted foot, "Why do you have to go and make everything so damn complicated?!"

Just when she was beginning to completely trust him. Just when they were both beginning to open up…

Thinking hard, Lara knew that Kurtis had been right. Neither could pull this off without the other. She owed it to the world to stop the Nephilim. It was her duty to stop Karel and his insane ritual, since it was she who had inadvertently given him everything he needed to give birth to the Nephilim race anew.

She was firmly decided that she had to help stop Karel, but what about working with Kurtis? He was the only Lux Veritatis left on the face of the earth, and she could not let centuries of tradition and sacrifice just disappear. True, Kurtis had done some bad things in the past but so had she. It was she who had awoken Set and almost brought Armageddon on Earth. It was she who had failed to kill Karel and led to the deaths of all those people at the hospital.

Maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt in the situation. He'd mentioned going through his Lux Veritatis training from an extremely young age. Anyone who had ever been pushed like that and controlled since childhood would yearn for freedom…

Suddenly Lara realised everything about Kurtis was so similar to herself. They had both left behind their respective upbringings to lead their own lives. He; his controlling father. She; her aristocratic family. They had each become the prodigal son or daughter, going against their family's wishes. They were both alone in the world.

With this last revelation Lara was already heading towards the back entrance. Her earlier rage forgotten, she quickly found her way back to their room, thankful for the pitiful warmth that the motel's heating offered.

Expecting to find Kurtis up, she stopped still in the doorway when she found him asleep. On the floor.

She smiled in silent thanks, closing the door quietly behind her and tiptoeing across the room. Kurtis did not stir.

_I'll talk to him in the morning,_ she decided, kicking her boots off before climbing into bed. She no longer cared about Karel and his men finding them. She felt both mentally and physically exhausted. She laid down and slept more deeply and peacefully then she had done in weeks.

* * *

Sunlight, still managing to find a way in through the tiny barred window, streamed over the bed where Lara lay, slowly coaxing her out of unconsciousness. For a few moments she could not remember where she was or why she was there, and then the memories of last night washed over her. 

She groaned, screwing up her eyes and forcing herself into a sitting position under the bedcovers. She _really _did not want to face Kurtis after what had happened last night.

"Morning," said a voice, only a few feet away.

Lara practically dived for the bedside table, grabbing her Vector-R35 and hastily pointing it in the direction of the voice. In her sights was Kurtis, standing near the end of the bed. He raised his hands to his sides in mock surrender.

"Someone's not a morning person."

"Shut up Kurtis," she muttered, still not lowering her gun, "As you can tell I've decided to stay. It doesn't mean I've completely forgiven you though, I've just decided I need to get my priorities right."

"Fine enough," he replied, "But I'd rather you didn't point that thing at me."

Lara lowered her gun, slowly and still with hesitation.

"This doesn't mean I trust you though," she told him, throwing back the bed covers and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, "Just consider yourself lucky. Most men who cross me end up with a bullet in their brain."

"Duly noted," Kurtis answered, lowering his arms.

"What time is it?" Lara asked, her tone suddenly business-like.

"About eleven."

"Eleven?! You do realize there is a Nephilim after us don't you?!"

"You needed the sleep Lara," was his reply, "I didn't think it would do you any harm. Besides, we both need to be 100 percent if we're gonna pull this off."

Lara sighed, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. Once again Kurtis was right, and yet she hated to admit it. Rather than say anything she simply grabbed some clothes and headed towards the bathroom for a much-appreciated shower.

* * *

Four days later Lara and Kurtis arrived at the city of Istanbul. Although no longer the capital of Turkey, Istanbul was still significant in terms of culture and export. With a bustling population of 15 million, neither Lara nor Kurtis were greatly worried by their pursuers. They had journeyed all through the day, taking turns driving the motorbike, stopping to rest when it was absolutely necessary and only then for a few short hours. There had been no sign of Karel or his men for the past four days, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good in the aspect that they might reach Cappadocia first, but bad because they had no clue _where_ Karel was. 

Neither had spoken much, and when they did it was strictly to do with business. They had reached a mutual understanding, in which neither mentioned the events of four nights ago. Mostly Lara was balancing everything out and trying to collect her thoughts on the matter, whilst Kurtis was simply waiting for her decision.

Accommodation was not a big problem, since Istanbul seemed to be filled with hotels of varying quality. Lara and Kurtis soon checked into a small hotel overlooking the Marmara Sea. It was set in a quiet and out-of-the-way place, right next to the dock.

From the outside it was pretty obvious the hotel was of considerable quality compared to the pathetic motels they had been staying in. They were going to have a full nights rest whilst they could; they were only a couple of days away from their final destination.

Lara had shelled out for a room with a double bed this time around, since both were getting sick of sleeping on the hard floor every other night. They couldn't afford separate rooms; Lara had only the cash she had managed to pick up in Paris and Prague and Kurtis had even less than that. Lara had lost her credit cards along with her backpack when she had been running from the Parisian police. It was also in common sense to share a room, so that their pursuers could not catch one of them unawares.

"OK, so this is the plan," Lara spread out a detailed map of Turkey upon the wooden desk in their room.

"Where'd you get that?" Kurtis asked.

"I bought it whilst you were getting petrol," she offered, "OK, so all this area of Turkey is Cappadocia," Lara gestured towards the centre of the map, indicating the huge region of desert, bizarre rock formations, caves and underground cities, "Meaning our task isn't exactly going to be easy."

"So perceptive," Kurtis muttered.

"But like our good pal Rouzic told us," Lara continued, ignoring Kurtis' comment, "Karel has already got a team excavating the site. Hopefully we can narrow it down if we can get a list of all the sites currently under excavation…"

"OK, so we know how to find the place. What did you have in mind in order to total it?"

"I have a contact here in Istanbul," Lara replied, "We can go see him tomorrow. He can hook us up with explosives, weaponry, you name it."

"Are you sure this contact can be trusted?" Kurtis asked.

"Not in the slightest," Lara replied, folding up the map again, "But he's the best there is for supplies. The first and last time I saw him was about five years ago."

"Five years ago?" Kurtis said, "Is he even going to remember you?"

"Oh, he'll remember me," Lara told him, a smirk pulling at her lips, "It's a bit hard to forget the girl who punched you out when you came onto her."

Kurtis smiled amusedly at the imagery, and then silently reminded himself to be_ very _careful when flirting with this woman.

Lara simply gave him a lingering look which seemed to say, "_Just try me."

* * *

_

The sky outside the window was steadily getting darker, and Lara began to light some candles to provide better light. Kurtis sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from Lara.

"Don't," Lara told him, still in the process of lighting the candles.

"Don't what?" Kurtis asked, turning his head to the side slightly.

"Don't smoke that thing in here," she said, blowing out her used match and turning to face him, "You may want to kill yourself slowly but don't poison _my _oxygen supply."

Kurtis rolled his eyes, continuing to light up his cigarette. He walked past Lara and stepped out onto the balcony, giving her a look as if to say, _"Happy?"_ She distinctly heard the word 'women' muttered under the Lux Veritatis' breath and sighed.

"Men," she answered, in a much more obvious tone.

**TBC…**

Wow, this chapter is the longest yet! The majority of this chapter was written with a pad and a pen by candlelight. I was without power from Saturday morning until Sunday night. Because of severe flooding my power was cut off and I had to live on chocolate and other things until it was restored. No hot meals. No television. And most importantly: no internet! I have no idea how I survived! :s I did get a lot of writing done though... The good news is I am off until Thursday since my school has no heating. Woohoo! If you're interested, the title of this chapter comes from the song "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park, possibly the greatest band in the world :)

nickless - Thank you for reviewing and for adding my story to your favourites :)

Jordana Trent - Wow! You certainly crammed a lot in your reviews lol I am happy that this story is making people laugh, I always wonder if I am funny :s You have not seen the last of Karel oh no... Of course you can request more of him! :) Not to give anything away but: soon, soon... The title of this story I actually got from an episode of Angel. I assumed it had something to do with religion because of the Bethlehem part. I thought it was kind of like 'looking for salvation', but taking a long time getting there. Interesting that _I _did get it in the right context...

Lady Lara Croft - hehe Would I ever intentionally harm either of them? :D I'm glad to see I scared you a bit there. A bit of my twisted sense of humour :)

lara-n-kurtis - Sure, I'll definitely check out your story. Thank you, that ID scene was _extremely _hard to write. Once again, you'll just have to wait (but not too long :D)


	15. Calm Before The Storm

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

»**Chapter Fourteen: Calm Before The Storm »

* * *

**

Kurtis had been outside smoking on the balcony for some time now, and Lara figured he would probably be out there for a while.

She never could understand why people felt the need to smoke. It was stupid, dangerous and extremely damaging to your health.

_Then again, _she thought, a smile pulling at her lips, _So is being a tomb raider._

She turned to the side slightly and peered over her left shoulder. She saw Kurtis out of the corner of her eye, standing, leaning against the railing of the balcony with his back to her, sending another plume of smoke into the night sky.

Looking over at his effects on the bedside table, she craned her neck once more to make sure Kurtis was still smoking, before abandoning her pretence, getting up from her seat and stepping over towards the bed.

She picked up his Boran X first, admiring the unique weapon as she turned it over in her hands. She opened the chamber, examining the bullets inside before twirling it around and clicking it back into place. She carefully put the gun back exactly where she had left it, directing her attention to his Chirguai. The bladed weapon fit into her grip nicely, but try as she might she could not get the blades to spring out. She was just about to give up when the Chirguai came to life suddenly, causing her to almost drop the object in shock when it nearly cut her fingers off.

"Be careful," said a voice behind her, and she turned guiltily to find Kurtis standing in the doorway, "Seems to have a mind of its own."

"I was just looking," she replied.

"Uh huh," he said, walking over and taking the Chirguai from her. Immediately the blades retracted and Kurtis leaned over Lara and put it back on the bedside table. "You seem to have a strange fascination with going through my things."

Lara was caught off guard by this comment. It was the first time either of them had mentioned the events of a few nights ago.

"Sorry," Lara muttered, watching as Kurtis sat on the edge of the bed.

"What were you looking at my things for anyways?" he asked, although he seemed more curious than angry.

Lara shrugged, walking over and joining him on the bed.

"I don't know, it's just… Ever since you pointed that thing at me in the Louvre I was just curious about it that's all."

There was a pause. After a while Kurtis stood up and retrieved the Chirguai from the bedside table. He sat back down next to Lara.

"I got this," he held up the Chirguai, "Along with the Periapt Shards after my father was murdered… He made arrangements for them to be delivered to me on the event of his death." Another pause followed this statement, and Lara knew Kurtis found it difficult talking about his father.

"It's alright Kurtis," she told him, reaching out a hand and placing it on top of his own, which currently rested on his knee. He looked down at this contact and sighed.

"Konstantin – my father - began my Lux Veritatis training when I was only three. It was simple exercises at first, but the training got much harder as the years went on. At sixteen I underwent the most intense stage of my initiation. A test – to hone my mental and physical skills. I was lucky to get through it alive. Me and my father never did connect the same afterwards. I kept myself distanced from him, since he was the one who had forced me into such a dangerous situation. When I reached nineteen we had a huge blow-out. I packed up my stuff and left the house without even saying goodbye. I ran off to France and joined the Foreign Legion."

Lara was aware that Kurtis was telling her much more than she needed to know. She simply sat quietly and listened as he told her about his experiences in the Legion. Events linked to the occult had followed him even whilst at war all over Europe.

"I knew my cover had been blown in the Legion," he continued, "They'll let anyone sign up, regardless of their past. A lot of guys join the Legion and just disappear. I changed my name to Trent and never spoke of my heritage to anyone there, and yet I wasn't able to hide completely. I was in the Legion in the end for less than 5 years… After that I drifted. I found work whenever I could, doing… Well, you already know what work I was doing."

_Mercenary, _thought Lara, although she did not say it out loud.

"How come you ended up working for Gunderson?" she asked him. She had been pondering it ever since she noticed his employer on the ID card she had found.

Kurtis rubbed the back of his neck with his fingertips.

"He runs something called the Agency, which is basically a mercenary recruitment service. Thinly disguised of course. Anyone who's ever done that kind of work has heard of himor worked for him, especially in Europe."

"So I guess the guy has a lot of power and influence over the authorities," Lara caught on, "That's why they managed to find you at the hospital so easily."

Kurtis nodded thoughtfully. Silence reigned for a moment.

"Kurtis?" Lara asked timidly, "Do you ever… Do you ever get sick of it? I mean. Do you ever get sick of this lifestyle?"

"What do you mean?" he replied, furrowing his brows.

"It's just," she stood up from her position on the edge of the bed. "I used to _love_ life. I mean, I used to get this feeling, whenever I was exploring an unknown tomb, or recovering some long-forgotten artefact." She began pacing back and forth at this point. "It was like this sense of awe. Like there was something sacred, beyond this life, worth risking your life for. You know?" She turned to Kurtis at this point.

He simply nodded, still unsure where she was going with this.

She sighed, wiping a hand over her face.

"I used to live for adventure, exploration, all of that stuff. But lately… I don't know, but it's like I've changed. I don't think I can ever go back to that lifestyle. I have a responsibility. We _both _do. I've got to help save the world again, but this time it feels as though it's gonna be the last time that happens…" She sighed again. " I really don't know if I can do this. I'm afraid, Kurtis."

"Lara," Kurtis told her, "I agree it seems a bit hopeless at the moment, but if we manage to destroy this city… Well, it'll give us more time to come up with a way to kill Karel."

Lara shook her head.

"You don't understand Kurtis," she answered wearily, "I'm not afraid of the world ending. I'm not afraid of Karel. Hell, I'm not even afraid of dying anymore. I'm afraid of losing you."

Kurtis blinked at this. What the hell was she talking about?

"You're afraid of losing me?" he repeated.

Lara nodded, standing completely still by now.

"But what about the IDs? What about my past? I thought you didn't even trust me, let alone care about my wellbeing."

"God dammit Kurtis, do you not understand this?!" Lara suddenly shouted, her voice filled with pent-up emotion, "Of course I care about you! You may be a stubborn bastard, but it's damn hard not to care about you. You killed people, I know… But I don't care."

There was a very long pause after this, during which Kurtis continued to look confused.

"I know you did all this stuff in the past. Bad stuff. _Very_ bad stuff. And if I had met you back then, well, I'd have probably shot you without a second's thought."

"Lara, I-"

"You've done some bad in the past, but I know you're a good person. I just want to help you see that." She paused at length, and their eyes met and held. "There's something here Kurtis," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "Something you can't deny. And no matter how hard I try I can't seem to ignore these feelings… God help me I try. It's just too hard. I can't…"

"Lara…" He had stood up from his position on the bed by now. She continued to look distraught, and within her eyes was reflected the same pain, doubt and fear he felt.

Her next words were a fleeting whisper, and if they had not been standing so close then Kurtis doubted he would have been able to hear them.

"I can't help falling in love with you."

There was a moment as they both simply stood, caught in this revelation. Lara's eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, and the sight chased away any doubts Kurtis had ever had.

He leaned forwards, taking her face in both his hands, and pulled her to him. The kiss was soft and quick; filled with a tenderness Lara had never experienced in her life. Involuntarily she moaned against him. Tracing along the curve of her cheekbone with his palm, he lingered for a long while, his movements hesitating and slow. Perhaps she had been expecting this all along, he could not be sure, but they were now so close that he could actually feel her heartbeat quickening. His mouth lingered against hers for a moment, anxious and wavering. She remained motionless in shock.

Kurtis pulled back from the kiss and rested his forehead against her own, waiting for Lara to open her eyes. When she did Kurtis could not help notice just how truly beautiful she was.

"Neither can I," he breathed.

There was no need to speak. No need to say a word. Just a soft sigh of relief as he took her face in his hands again. Their lips met with an infinite softness; slow, gentle, and yet quick and urgent at the same time. Almost without thought her hands were tangling in his hair, and she opened her mouth onto his as his arms slid about her waist.

No words were exchanged as Kurtis tugged at the fabric of her shirt. She simply drew back and let him pull the garment over her head. Soon it lay upon the floor as their lips met again, and Lara pushed Kurtis up against the wall, hands sliding beneath his shirt and up his bare back, gripping his shoulders even tighter than before. They had to stop a moment later to come up for air, and both gazed at each other, desperately trying to catch their breath.

Suddenly the heat of the room had become unbearable.

Their tongues met again with a newfound fire, and quickly any garments which had before shielded their bodies were strewn haphazardly across the room. Lara leant back against the edge of the bed, pulling Kurtis down with her. His mouth left hers and began to trail kisses along her collarbone, making her arch her back away from the bed and gasp in pleasure. Her hands clung to his back, attempting to find some sort of anchor.

She wondered exactly when this had happened. The _very _moment when she had fallen in love with him. Perhaps it had been that night so very long ago, when she'd held his hand on the way to hospital. Maybe it had been even earlier than that; when she'd first spun around and come face-to-face with her assailant at the Louvre, only to find herself lost in those beautiful blue eyes…

The Turkish sun had long set below the Marmara Sea, and yet the water continued to shimmer with fading pinks and pastels. A light sea breeze drifted in from the balcony, causing the curtains to stir gently. The view was lost to Lara however.

As Kurtis lowered himself down onto her, the whole world seemed to melt away. All the doubt, fear, pain and apprehension of the past few weeks seemed to just disappear. Lara Croft forgot about all Karel, the Nephilim, and the impending apocalypse.

At that exact moment nothing else in the world seemed to matter.

**TBC…**

God damn that was the hardest chapter to write! The rating for this story _might_ change because of the nature of up-coming chapters. If this is the case, then you will only be able to view it if you change the search box to all ratings, as opposed to G to PG-13... Do not worry; this story has barely begun! :D

nickless – Thank you! I found this site a bit daunting at first, but everyone here is so nice. You'll soon get settled in :) And no, I won't write by candle light anymore lol

Acid-Rush – You swapped comments with a guy on a geology trip like Lara and Kurtis? Where there something between you, or was he just being a typical guy? :D I'm actually eating chocolate now, but you don't appreciate hot meals until they're gone… Prince Charles visited my city the other day. It's weird, no-one has ever heard of Carlisle and now it's all over the news! (One guy I spoke to thought it was in America lol)

Angel-Trent2 – Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Nice to find someone else with good taste in music :) I can't wait to go see Linkin Park when they tour the UK…

PunkStatik – Thank you! The dynamics I had going between Lara and Kurtis is called UST: Unresolved Sexual Tension. I don't know how I'd write without using it! I always try to update as quickly as possible. I hope this chapter was put up quickly enough! :)

lara-n-kurtis - :D What else can I say? Question answered...


	16. Into The Abyss

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

»**Chapter Fifteen: Into The Abyss »

* * *

**

It was in the early hours of the morning, before the sun had risen and darkness still filled the sky, when Kurtis awoke. He shifted beneath the covers, turning to find Lara lying next to him, still fast asleep. Her hair fell lightly across her face, still tied up loosely in its braid. For the first time since Kurtis had met her she looked peaceful.

He smiled, planting a lingering kiss upon her bare shoulder before slipping out of bed.

Soon he was outside on the balcony, fully dressed and lighting up a cigarette. He took a long drag and exhaled the smoke, leaning forwards on the railing, screwing up his eyes and running a hand over his fatigued face.

Last night may have been the greatest in his life, and yet he was feeling restless, tense and not just a little bit fearful. In only a few hours he and Lara were going to go see this contact of hers, and get all the supplies they needed to demolish the Nephilim city. That meant tomorrow was the night they would attempt to accomplish this, which meant that they both may only have a few precious days or hours left.

He sighed, letting the cigarette hang loosely from his lips. He truly could not remember how long it had been since he was not living with the threat of death hanging over his head. Perhaps living on the edge had seemed exciting at first, but it was many, many years since he had been a young, stupid teenager joining the Foreign Legion. Years of combat, death and fear had taken its toll, and he really did feel as though he wouldn't make it through the next few days.

Even if they managed to succeed in destroying the city, what then? It would only delay Karel's plans, and soon enough they would be on the run again, living in constant fear of discovery. Kurtis seriously doubted that Karel would let Lara live if they were caught, and he could not bare the thought of losing her…

Not after last night.

He plucked the cigarette from between his lips, dropping it to the ground and crushing the smoldering column of ash underfoot. He pulled his slightly crumpled cigarette packet from out of his trouser pocket, cursing when he found it empty. He sighed heavily, scrunching it up with his hand and letting it drop over the side of the balcony, landing in the bushes below.

There was a rustling sound from below, and Kurtis squinted into the darkness. The plants rustled again, louder this time. The movement was definitely not caused by an animal…

"Shit!" he cursed under his breath, throwing himself behind the balcony railing.

There was someone down there; with a gun aimed right at him.

Quickly, making sure to keep low, Kurtis ducked back into the room, heading over to the bedside table and grabbing his weapons. The noise woke up Lara.

"Kurtis?" she asked, still bleary-eyed, "W-What's going on?"

"There's someone down there," he answered, loading his Boran X and closing the chamber with a click.

"Who?" Lara answered in a hushed voice, already beginning to pull on some clothes.

"Well it definitely isn't our early morning wake-up call."

"You think it's Karel?" Lara asked.

Kurtis simply nodded, nervously handling his Chirguai whilst Lara grabbed all of her stuff. Her clothes were strewn all over the floor, and yet she dressed with a speed only possible in such a moment of urgency. She packed the last of the books into her backpack, swinging it over her shoulders and loading up her Vector R-35.

Without a word they had slipped out of the room, treading with careful footsteps down the hotel's deserted corridors. Many of the doors they passed bore 'Do Not Disturb' signs and they both complied, sneaking silently towards the back exit of the building.

They paused at this door, and Kurtis quietly pushed it open, throwing himself outside with gun held high. No-one challenged, and he gave Lara the all clear. She followed him outside.

A warm breeze blew from the nearby Marmara Sea, stirring Lara's braid. She followed Kurtis silently around the back of the building, watching out for attacks from the rear, whilst Kurtis covered the front.

"Jesus Christ," Kurtis muttered.

Lara spun around quickly, but did not find any danger before her. Instead she found Kurtis' motorcycle stood against the wall of the hotel, its' tyres riddled with bullets. There was no way to escape on it now.

"Shit," Lara breathed, "What the hell do we do now?"

As if in answer, there was a loud bang and a bullet hole appeared in the wall inches from Lara's head.

"We run," Kurtis told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her away. Lara snatched a glance backwards and saw the figures that now appeared from the darkness. Bullets continued to whiz past them but Kurtis simply ran on faster, speeding them both away from the hotel. Their urgent footsteps pounded out an irregular rhythm against the dusty ground, throwing up dust and loose stone.

Kurtis still had hold of Lara's hand, and presently he skidded to a halt, and Lara, in her shock, baulked against him and nearly fell over from the sudden lack of momentum.

"Kurtis what are you do-?" The question trailed off as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and took in the sight of a dozen more armed soldiers, standing right in their path. They both turned back and found their escape route cut off by the others. They were stood at the end of the dock, with Karel's men before them and the water behind them. They backed up as far as they could go, but it was all too clear that they were trapped.

"Mr. Trent," said a horribly familiar voice, "I paid you a visit at the hospital the other day… Did you not wish to see me?"

Joachim Karel stepped out from behind the ring of men surrounding the pair. Kurtis felt Lara grip his hand a little tighter.

"Go to hell, "Kurtis told him, "Go and fucking burn for all I care."

Karel gave a smile.

"I really don't think you're in any position to be giving me orders Mr. Trent," he said, his tone a mixture of threat and amusement, "If that's the kind of language you're going to be using, then I don't see any harm in a spot of discipline… Wouldn't you agree?"

The Nephilim waved with his gloved hand, and more than a dozen rifles all pointed at Lara's head. Kurtis let go of Lara's hand and stepped in front of her, putting himself between her and the soldiers' weapons.

"Don't you _fucking _dare," Kurtis breathed, raising his Boran X with shaking hands.

A look of amusement flitted across Karel's face.

"You really think the odds are in your favour?" He laughed. "Give yourself up, or I will not hesitate to shoot."

There was a click as the safety of a gun was released. Lara aimed her Vector-R35 at the Nephilim before her.

"Neither will I."

Karel actually began to laugh, and the malice in his voice was enough to send a chill down Lara's spine.

"Miss. Croft, you still have a choice before you," Karel said, clasping his hands behind his back, as though he were negotiating a business deal, "You can join me, and help give birth to the rest of my race; a benign new order to dominate the world… Or you can die, like the weak, pathetic human that you are. Which will it be?"

Lara simply narrowed her eyes.

"I have already made my choice."

Karel raised his weapon and let out a long, fake sigh.

"I did not wish to do this," was all he said.

The gun roared.

Pain exploded in Lara's stomach, causing her to stumble backwards. Her gun clattered uselessly to the ground. She put her hands to her torso, lifting them away and seeing through glassy eyes the crimson which now stained them. Blood began to spread out, staining her shirt and running over her hands. Lara remained motionless, clutching her hands to her stomach.

"Lara!" Kurtis screamed. He tried to reach out to her, but suddenly his arms were seized and his weapon torn from his grasp. He continued to fight against Karel's men for all he was worth, but their hold was too strong, and soon he hung, panting and defeated in their grip.

"Lara…" he whispered, his voice small and weak.

Lara did not reply. The world in front of her was shifting out of focus. As if in slow motion, her strength failed her and she collapsed, falling backwards, off the end of the dock.

She barely registered her body hitting the water before everything went black.

**TBC…**

…Review? …Please? :)

Acid-Rush – Thank you, I did spend a lot of time writing that scene and trying to get it perfect. Glad to see you enjoyed it! You like Linkin Park too? God damn it, everyone on this site is so cool! :)

Lady Lara Croft – lol It can get very frustrating when you're unable to review… I'm glad to see you managed in the end :) Uh huh, Lara and Kurtis are meant to be together! (Please keep that in mind after reading this chapter lol)

SilverDragon67 - (hugs back) Thank you! Here is the Nephi-filled chapter you asked for… :)

Angel-Trent2 - :) Thanks! I hope this latest chapter is even better.

lara-n-kurtis – hehe Good to see you liked it :) Well, I really do owe you an apology… Or did this last chapter not qualify as something "bad" happening? lol

dtaylor16889 – I appreciate all reviews! Don't worry about the lateness :) The site shut down halfway through? Damn, it is annoying when it does that!

PunkStatik – hehe Here is another note, to make you feel extra special! :) lol I'm glad it didn't turn out like porn (shudders at the thought) The tension has been resolved, and now you know what has happened next… (grins evilly)


	17. Redefinition

Kurtis felt completely numb as he stared down at the water below. Already blood was beginning to plume across the surface of the lake, leaving the depths of the murky water awash with red. His disbelieving eyes remained fixed upon the water for some time. Lara did not surface again.

She was gone.

Ripples continued to scatter across the lake's surface as Karel strode past him and approached the water's edge, his hands clutched calmly behind his back. His leather jacket was flung open to reveal a gun resting in the holster at his thigh. It was the same gun he had just used to shoot Lara. Kurtis did his utmost to stop the tears which were threatening to spill down his face. He did not wish to show weakness in front of these men, but after everything that had happened he could feel his resolve slowly beginning to crumble. His father, Boaz, Lara… It all just kept on coming.

Gunderson was occupied nearby, directing his soldiers to dispose of the bodies that had been killed during the battle. Kurtis watched with unseeing eyes as the mercenaries dragged the corpses of their former comrades over to the shore of the lake, stripped them of their weapons and weighted down their flak jackets with rocks. There were several dull splashes as the bodies were pushed into the water. The men worked without emotion, their faces expressionless as they handed off the extra weapons to those who could bear them. These were seasoned mercenaries, desensitised to death. Kurtis had been one of them once. He too had seen his fair share of horrors in life, but nothing that affected him quite like this.

Karel seemed to sense these thoughts, for he suddenly turned and fixed Kurtis with his unblinking gaze. The empty look in his eyes was chilling.

"I am sorry," Karel said. "If I had known that you and Ms. Croft had become so close I would never have…" He paused in mid-speech, thinking about this for a moment. "Actually, I would have killed her regardless of your feelings. But perhaps I would have exacted my judgement in a far more painful manner."

"Shut your mouth!" Kurtis spat. He struggled quite uselessly against the men that held him. He would have given anything in the world to be able to break free there and then and punch Karel squarely in the face. "You shot her in cold blood. You fucking coward!"

Karel simply gave a shrug. Somehow his nonchalance at the situation was far more unsettling then anything Kurtis could have imagined.

"I gave her a choice," he said. "She chose to die. Far be it from me to explain her logic in this matter." Karel touched a hand to the gun at his belt again, as though he were preparing to withdraw it. He was about to turn away when a thought seemed to strike him. Instead he let his gaze linger upon Kurtis, a small smile playing upon his pale lips. "You were in love with her, weren't you?"

Kurtis did not answer. He had always played his cards close to his heart and that was not about to change. His feelings were nobody's business but his own. Nevertheless some spark of emotion in his eyes must have betrayed him in that moment, for Karel seemed pleased with what he saw and gave a short laugh.

"Mortals," he muttered. "Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me." Karel turned back and looked out across the surface of the lake. The water lapped quietly against the edge of the dock in the moonlight. "I have lived for centuries and seen the pointless wars that you wage. All of the pain and suffering that you inflict upon yourselves and others in the name of some higher cause. To protect those that you love." Karel looked down at his boots, absently pushing a pile of loose stones into the water. "Why do humans insist on having feelings?" he asked. "What is the point of it all?"

"It makes us something other than dead."

Slowly Karel turned around and looked at Kurtis again, surprised by these words. He raised an eyebrow at their significance. Then he approached his prisoner and crouched down so that they were almost face-to-face.

"Try telling that to Ms. Croft," he said.

Rough hands held Kurtis firmly in place as Karel stood up again and returned to the lake's edge. He was well aware of the snatches of whispered conversation, the creaking of leather and the malicious laughter of the soldiers around him. He did not listen to them. The blood was pounding too heavily in his ears.

"I would not worry too much," said Karel. "You will get to join her soon. What is that delusion that mortals always speak so fondly of? Heaven, is it?" He turned and gave Kurtis a questioning look. "Yes, I believe that is so. I am sure she is waiting for you in heaven. And she will be in good company. All of those Lux Veritatis who have suffered and died throughout the centuries…" He smiled maliciously. Kurtis was trembling with anger. "Generation upon generation of your order. Even your own father. They will wish to know why you failed them, why you are worthy of being the last of your line."

"I could say the same thing about you," Kurtis sneered. "And at least somebody will mourn my death. Maybe I am the last Lux Veritatis, but there are still others, outside the order, who will grieve me. Nobody will give a shit when you are gone. The world won't miss another self-serving lawyer."

Karel chuckled at this.

"I'm afraid you underestimate me," he said. "I am well aware of the loose ends in need of tidying. I intend to see to them as soon as you have outlived your usefulness to me." Again he touched a hand to the gun at his belt, rubbing an absent thumb across the barrel. "Your mother, for instance." Kurtis' eyes flashed at this remark. "After all, it does not seem fitting that she should suffer to live on once her husband and her son are both dead." He gestured with a casual wave of his hand. "Three pretty graves all in a row…"

Anger suddenly consumed him. It gave Kurtis the strength to break free from the hands that were holding him. He cleared the distance towards the dock with frightening speed and tackled Karel violently about the waist. He had just a moment to catch the astonished look upon the soldiers' faces before he sent them both slamming down into the water like a rocket.

**XXX**

They were in a void without sound for a moment, wrestling furiously against each other and the pressure of the water as it closed about them. Their combined weight quickly sent them both plummeting down into the murky depths like a stone. Kurtis seized hold of the collar of Karel's leather jacket and refused to let go. He thought of nothing but wrapping his hands about Karel's throat and choking the life out of him, but the water slowed his movements and his brain was soon screaming for air.

Through the vacuum of the water Kurtis felt a dull roar as something plumed into the water nearby. Another something followed a moment later, and suddenly Kurtis felt a hand snatch a fistful of his shirt. By now there was no breath left in his body. He tried to kick out at his attacker but darkness slowed his senses. Another hand yanked him upwards and he broke the surface of the lake with a gasp. Black dots flashed in his vision at the sudden onrush of oxygen into his screaming lungs.

Gunderson stood upon the dock nearby, barking frantic orders at his men. He had his sub-machine gun in his hands and was aiming it straight at Kurtis' head. His eyes were steely and cold as he gazed down at the soldiers holding him and yelled: "Get them back on dry land! Now!"

Kurtis struggled weakly as he was dragged back towards the shore, but he could barely catch his breath. He was soon hauled back onto dry land, coughing and spluttering. The water had plastered his hair to his forehead and soaked his shirt through. He shivered fiercely against the cold as rough hands hauled him to his feet again.

It was some time before he noticed Karel standing nearby, dripping with water and running a trembling hand through his hair. A number of soldiers stood around him, looking concerned but wisely keeping their distance. Obviously they had just helped to pull him out of the water too. Like Kurtis the Nephilim's clothes were completely soaked. He stared blankly at the ground as he removed his sodden gloves one by one and held them limply in his pale hand. Gunderson lowered his gun and approached him warily.

"Meister Karel?"

Gunderson reached out and put a concerned hand upon Karel's shoulder. Karel merely swatted him away. For a moment he did not say a word. Then with swift footsteps he advanced upon Kurtis and punched him hard in the face. The blow was so strong that it broke Kurtis' nose with a sickening crack. Blood sprayed across the dusty ground. The men holding him were forced to drag Kurtis upright again as he fell back against them. Karel paused and slipped his gloves inside his jacket.

"You might want to learn to behave a little better," Karel snarled at him. His voice was filled with quiet malice as he leant in disturbingly close. Kurtis met his gaze evenly, blood now pouring heavily down his face. "The ritual does not require you alive. Or in one piece."

Kurtis did not even blink as water dripped down into his eyes. He was not about to admit defeat. The very thought that Lara was dead made him feel physically sick. He was not prepared to let her go. Not yet. If anything the slim hope that she might have survived gave him something to hold onto. It was a thought with which he could defy Karel and his captors. It was all that he had left.

Kurtis' mouth twisted into a bloody smirk. He chuckled hysterically, perhaps from the cold, and said: "What's the matter, Joachim? All those centuries of life and you never even learnt to swim?"

Karel did not bother to humour him. He growled and seized a fistful of Kurtis' shirt. Kurtis tried to pull away but Karel was far stronger than he; he was also pinioned between two soldiers holding his arms, unable to fight back.

"She is dead," Karel said in a cold voice. He tilted his head and stared at Kurtis hard. Every word he spoke slowly and deliberately for maximum effect. "If she does not bleed to death or drown first her own acids will fill up her stomach cavity from within. It will mix with her blood and she will slowly die in agony as-"

Kurtis spat in Karel's face. Immediately a dozen sub-machine guns converged upon him. Karel, however, said nothing as he reached into his pocket and removed a silk handkerchief. It was sodden through, but nonetheless he slowly wiped at his face before folding it up again and returning it to his leather jacket. Then he gestured to his men with a wave of his hand.

"Please," he said. "Put down your weapons." The soldiers around him obeyed this order, albeit reluctantly. Karel stepped back and looked around at them with a cold glare and then turned to Gunderson. "We have strayed here too long. My force field shall fail soon. We do not want anyone to hear us coming or going." Gunderson nodded. Satisfied, Karel turned back and met Kurtis' eyes. "But you may," he said carefully, "be as rough as you like for this." And he smiled and added: "Tie his hands."

Kurtis knew that this was his last opportunity to escape. He reared back and kicked out at the soldier who approached him. As the man doubled over in pain Kurtis managed to elbow one of his guards in the head. There was a dull crack. He turned and used this sudden leverage to throw the other guard across his shoulder. In an instant he was free and facing down the other soldiers, who were caught off-guard and blindly scrambling for their guns.

Kurtis stared them down with a smirk. Behind him the Chirugai leapt into the air with a surge of orange sparks, ripping free of its restraints at a soldier's belt. He had been tugging at the connection with the weapon for a long time now, but only at that moment did it respond to his call. Its blades still shone with fresh blood from their last battle.

"Enough!" Karel cried. And he threw out a hand. Suddenly the air pulsated again with green energy. Before he could do anything Kurtis was blasted off his feet and sent sailing through the air. He slammed to the ground hard, sliding to an abrupt halt in the dust. He clutched at his stomach in agony and then turned and spat up blood. The Chirugai clattered uselessly to the ground, the connection broken.

Karel lowered his hand, seething with anger. The air about him crackled dangerously with energy. He looked around at his bewildered men and yelled at them: "Don't just stand there! Retrieve him!"

Gunderson and his men rushed forwards. But Kurtis was not willing to give up yet. He weakly pushed himself up onto his elbows, lifting a hand to call his Chirugai. The weapon clattered weakly for a moment and then fell still. Kurtis stared at it in confusion, blinking heavily as he tried to make sense of this action. He looked up at Gunderson as he approached and then collapsed onto his back again, his energy utterly spent.

When they reached him Kurtis was too far gone to fight back. He grimaced in pain as the soldiers hauled him shakily to his knees. Roughly they wrenched his hands behind his back and bound his wrists with plastic ties. The others kept their guns trained firmly upon him, discouraging him from attempting to escape again.

Kurtis closed his eyes as the plastic ties were cinched tight enough to cut off his circulation. He refused to accept this defeat. Once more he attempted to call his Chirugai but to no avail. It felt as though there was a shield between him and his weapon, blocking him from connecting with its power. He opened his eyes to find Karel staring down at him, clearly amused.

The look on Karel's face told Kurtis everything. The Nephilim bent down and casually retrieved the Chirugai where it had clattered upon the ground earlier. It trembled for a moment in his hand, trying to break free from his grip. Then the blades retracted and became perfectly still.

"How did you…?"

Karel gave a wicked smile. It was not the first time Kurtis felt as though he could read his deepest thoughts. Karel came to stand before Kurtis with slow steps. Then he suddenly grabbed his prisoner roughly by the collar and jerked him forwards. Karel looked into Kurtis' eyes with frightening intensity.

"You are not the only one with hidden powers," he said. "And do not think I have forgotten about your little outburst. You and I are going to have a talk later." He growled. "Your punishment is only delayed this time."

And Karel leant down and kissed Kurtis furiously upon the forehead. Then he turned away with a laugh and departed for the waiting cars in the distance, the Chirugai still in his hand. Kurtis stared after Karel with murderous intent. Soon a shadow fell across him as he knelt in the dust. He looked up to find the hulking form of Marten Gunderson standing above him, sub-machine gun in hand. He did not look pleased.

"I would advise you not to make this any harder than necessary, Trent," Gunderson told him. "My men weren't exactly thrilled by our last two meetings. You have a tendency to call attention to yourself."

Kurtis' expression changed at these words. His eyes shifted rapidly from Karel's departing figure and fixed upon Gunderson, a slight smile playing at his lips.

"Kind of embarrassing, isn't it?" Kurtis bit back. "Over a dozen trained soldiers can't even catch up with a single wounded guy." His smile became even wider. "What went wrong, Gunderson? I thought you were meant to be the best in the business?"

Gunderson glared daggers at him. Then he barked out orders without even breaking his gaze: "You heard Meister Karel. Move out!"

Around them the other soldiers rushed past with a dull clattering of weapons. Kurtis continued to smirk at Gunderson as his guards roughly pulled him to his feet and hauled him in the direction of the waiting vehicles. As they went Kurtis snatched a glance back over his shoulder towards the murky water at the end of the dock, but nothing disturbed the surface. The last ripple had petered out and disappeared beneath the undulating tide long ago. Lara was lost.

Roughly the men forced Kurtis into the backseat of one of the cars. Two soldiers followed him, positioning themselves on either side of Kurtis and cutting off any chance of escape. Karel was already sitting in the front passenger seat, and he turned and gave Kurtis a look that sent a chill down his spine. One thing was for sure: Karel would not let Kurtis get away from him again. His luck had just run out.

As the vehicles pulled away from the hotel Kurtis sat quietly with his head bowed and his eyes closed. His thoughts were consumed by Lara. He no longer felt close to tears; only a lingering sense of emptiness remained. He had been here before. It was where he lived, this loneliness bordering on despair. The tale remained the same even if the details changed. Kurtis was doomed to lose everyone that he loved. All that remained now was to make as defiant an end as possible.

**XXX**

_I think I could get used to this you know: torturing my readers and having them beg on their hands and knees for an update... (laughs evilly) Seriously, I am taking all your threats into consideration... Guess, you'll just have to wait to find out Lara's fate! ;) I am very grateful for everyone who reviewed. Keep this up and we can get to 100 reviews in no time! :D_


	18. Ancient History

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**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

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**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**»Chapter Seventeen: Ancient History »**

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The vehicles had stopped.

Kurtis lifted his head in surprise. They had been travelling non-stop for a number of hours now, and yet he knew they could not have reached Cappadocia yet. The journey there would take at least two days.

Karel and the driver had got out of the front of the car, but to Kurtis' annoyance his guards had made no such move.

There was some kind of commotion up ahead. They were directly in the middle of the row of vehicles, and as such were too far away to see what was going on, but still near enough to hear it.

Sat as he was, between two soldiers and away from the window, Kurtis could not see what was happening outside. He needed his hands free in order to use his farsee ability, and so he leaned forwards and strained his hearing, trying to catch some sense in the cacophony of voices outside.

One shout rang out above the noise, followed by the sound of machine gun fire. A few strangled screams were audible, but these were abruptly cut off. The shooting ended.

Silence reigned inside the car. Soon, the sounds of the returning soldiers reached his ears. Both the driver and Karel got back into the vehicle, slamming the doors shut behind them. As the engine started up, the black soldier on Kurtis' left spoke up.

"Why did we stop Master Karel?"

Karel answered without even turning his head.

"Toll booth," he said.

The soldier simply nodded and settled back into his seat. The vehicle trundled on, and Kurtis managed to snatch a glance out of the back window of the vehicle as they passed the toll booth.

Two police vehicles stood on either side of the now useless barrier, and Kurtis noticed with shock and nausea the dead men now staining the dusty road with their lifeblood. One such man was slumped over the hood of the police car where he had been shot. Kurtis was glad he could not see his face.

He turned away from the window, leaning back in his seat heavily. Spurred on by the sight he had just seen, his hands worked furiously behind his back, attempting to loosen the ropes which bound his wrists.

It was a difficult task to begin with, and the fact that Kurtis could hardly feel his hands tipped the scale into impossibility. After a few more minutes he stopped trying altogether, and figured he should probably try and save his energy.

From the looks of it it was going to be a _very _long night.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon the next day when the convoy of vehicles stopped again. The purpose was not to clear another roadblock however. 

Confused, Kurtis turned and peered once again out of the back window. In the growing dark he could still make out his surroundings. They were now outside a long, low building which resembled a warehouse. It appeared deserted.

He had seen Karel tap the driver on the shoulder and whisper something in his ear before they had stopped. He did not understand _why_ they had stopped though. They were barely two days from Cappadocia, and his experience of ancient rituals and sacrifices told him they usually had to be performed at a certain time. He was sure his multiple escapes from these men had meant they were cutting the time very close. So why were they stopping now?

His questions were soon answered however, once he was out of the car, being taken inside the warehouse. Karel was leaning against the wall of the building, his eyes squeezed shut and his breathing ragged. He looked even paler than usual.

"Master Karel?" Gunderson asked, walking over and putting a hand on the Nephilim's shoulder, "Are you OK?"

Karel shook his head distractedly, batting away Gunderson's hand.

"I'm fine," he said shortly, "Get the men inside."

Gunderson still looked concerned, yet he quickly obeyed his orders.

"Yes, sir," he told him, before quickly moving off to perform his duties.

As Kurtis was taken past Karel, inside the building, he continued to stare back at the Nephilim. Karel met his eyes for a moment before shouting further orders, in an aggravated and slightly tired voice:

"Lock him up somewhere and guard him. If he gets away again then neither of you will live to see tomorrow. Clear?"

The two soldiers holding Kurtis quickly agreed, dragging the Lux Veritatis further inside the dimly lit warehouse. The ceiling was low and damp, with water dripping from the roof and the stone walls covered in grime. Long disused machinery stood in rows along the walls and across the floor.

Soon enough they came across an abandoned furnace, with metal grilling surrounding its front in the form of a cage. Into this they threw Kurtis – none too gently – who landed hard on his already injured side and front.

He rolled slowly onto his back, groaning in pain, as the men shut and locked the door of the makeshift cage. The stone floor was cold and unforgivingly solid. He would have welcomed some warmth from the coal fire, but the furnace had long ago been extinguished.

His two guards were now stood outside the metal cage, guarding him with their backs turned. He got his hands underneath himself and slowly pushed off the floor, managing to pull himself up into a sitting position against the wall.

"You have great people skills you know," he said sarcastically. Neither of the guards answered.

Kurtis rolled his eyes. Mercenaries. They were all the same breed: precocious, cocky and above all else stubborn bastards.

_No wonder I made such a good one, _Kurtis mused, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall.

God, what he wouldn't have given for a cigarette right now.

* * *

About twenty minutes had passed, in which Kurtis' guards had remained silent and ignored his requests for a cigarette. He was just contemplating going to sleep when the sound of footsteps alerted him to someone's presence. 

"Trent," a familiar voice said. Kurtis looked up to find Marten Gunderson standing before him, already fiddling with the lock on the grilling door. "Master Karel requires your presence."

Kurtis raised an eyebrow.

"_Master _Karel requires my presence? Rather, I _require _a cigarette, and you _require _to have your head removed from up Karel's ass."

His last remark earned a punch in the jaw, and yet he was smirking as his guards once again grabbed his arms and hauled him to his feet. The look on his old employer's face had been worth the pain.

Gunderson walked ahead as the soldiers brought Kurtis to another part of the factory, devoid of machinery. A metal beam ran across the ceiling, which had once been part of a long-broken lighting rig.

They pulled Kurtis' arms above his head, taking another length of rope and attaching his already bound hands to the metal beam. His feet still touched the floor -although barely -and the strain of his body weight was causing his arms and shoulders to ache. Still he did not show any outward signs of discomfort. He wanted to rob his captors of that satisfaction.

His two guards exited quickly when Karel appeared, yet Gunderson strayed for a moment, leaning closer to Kurtis and whispering threateningly:

"Karel may get his way with you now, but me and men are to be given free reign after this little "conversation," He paused, letting Kurtis take this in. "All of my men - especially Jonath -are _so_ very eager to speak with you."

He gave Kurtis a lingering stare full of promise before he turned away, taking long purposeful strides until he was lost from view in the dim lighting of the building's interior.

Kurtis was now left alone with Karel. The Nephilim was simply standing there, not saying or doing anything. Kurtis truly did wish he had a cigarette.

"You know," Karel began, slowly walking around the hanging Lux Veritatis, "You and I are not all that different. We are both fighting for the same thing..." He finished pacing and ended up back in front of Kurtis. "We both seek control over the hybrids, the fallen, those who were so long ago-"

"You mean the Nephilim?" Kurtis cut in, really not wanting to hear Karel go on and on, "Look, if you're gonna kill me, I'd rather you do it right away. Kill me in a humane way, instead of boring me to death."

To Kurtis' surprise Karel did not hit him. Instead he smiled.

"You see Trent," he continued, "We are both impatient. We seek something beyond the confines of this world. Me - I seek the rebirth of my race and dominion over the earth. And you - well, you seek that which has already passed over."

Kurtis was just about ready to rip Karel's head off in anger.

"She is dead," Karel told him, echoing his words of the previous evening, "Lara Croft is dead and there is nothing in this world which will bring her back. You can see her again though. It is quite simple really. This ritual will give to us both what we most desire."

Kurtis did not reply. He could not. The moment he opened his mouth he would have said something which would have resulted in further pain, and his strained back and shoulders were on fire as it was.

"All those years ago," Karel went on, "At the time of the Trials, your ancestors - the Knights Templar -were paying for their heritage with their own blood. Now, you get to do the same… Quite fitting is it not? The very last of your Order should die, only to give life to the very race you have so long striven to keep extinct?" 

Karel paused at the end of this statement, as though he were waiting for a response. Kurtis gave no such thing. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed as he attempted to block out the Nephilim's voice.

A fist flew into his ribs, causing him to splutter and cough in pain as he sought to regain his breath. He fixed his eyes upon Karel, giving him a scathing look. The pain had been doubled because of his already injured torso.

"As I said before Trent," Karel told him, leaning in a little closer, "The only thing keeping you alive at the moment is my will. Do not convince me otherwise."

Kurtis simply met his eyes, attempting to ignore the throbbing pain that had reawakened in his side. If his stitches bust then he would bleed to death anyways, before they had even reached Cappadocia.

_In retrospect, _he thought, _I would prefer that scenario any day._

Karel smiled knowingly, his eyes glinting.

"Do you know what they used to do to Knights who resisted torture?"

He reached into the dark folds of his jacket and drew out a small metal object. At first Kurtis could not place it through hazy and bloodshot eyes. Then Karel brought it to life with one skilful flick of his thumb.

As Kurtis' eyes focused on the flaming lighter held before him by Joachim Karel, he knew the answer to his question before it was even spoken.

"They were burned alive."

**TBC…**

Well, this chapter definitely ended up being longer than when I first started writing it. :) The last few lines of this I actually wrote almost a year ago, in a moment of inspiration whilst on holiday in Cyprus. I was reading Angels and Demons at the time and all these references to the Knights Templar kept coming up in it... I definitely came up with a lot of story ideas whilst there!

godavari - Hey, sorry for not mentioning you in the last update: didn't catch your review in time. Thank you! You're just one of the many people wondering as to Lara's fate :D

nickless - I am actually planning a sequel to this story. I have a beginning and a _sketchy _plot and ending, but no idea as to a title yet... hehe Sorry for the cliffhanger this chapter, I did not put it there just to annoy you! :)

dtaylor - lol Yes, I'm very happy now :D

AngelTrent2 - Doesn't everyone hate cliffhangers? lol (expect me, of course :D)

Lady Lara Croft - Yep, gotta hate that evil Nephilim. I bet you'll be hating him even more after this last chapter... Thanks for reading!

SilverDragon67 - Argh! lol Here is the chapter for you, updated as quickly as possible!

The Odd Little Turtle - :) Hope I updated quickly enough!

Acid-Rush - lol Well, here is evil Karel but no Lara I'm afraid :s

Arakanga - Thank you :D Here is another chapter, churned out far too quickly than is good for my social life! (like I have one anyways lol)

PunkStatik - Yey! Someone else likes cliffhangers too! (hugs) I am not too sure how many chapters this will end up having. I'm sure it won't be over 30 though :D

Jordana Trent - hehe Well, I didn't want to get poked so I updated right away! You like the Nephilim, do ya? Whatever ails ya... ;)


	19. A Taste Of Oblivion

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* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**»Chapter Eighteen: A Taste of Oblivion »**

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Darkness. It shrouded her vision. Clouded her senses. Threatened to once more pull her under. And yet she fought on.

Slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She blinked once. Twice. The light was blinding. Within the abyss there was no pain, no fear, no uncertainty. Yet she knew if she gave in there was no coming back.

Images flashed past in her mind's eye. She'd been standing at the end of dock. Karel was there, and he'd been clutching a pistol. She recalled the loud roar of gunfire, and then intense pain. She saw Kurtis screaming her name, struggling against the soldiers who had seized him. Then a roaring as she'd impacted into the water, followed by an abyss of darkness and silence.

She opened her eyes with a soft gasp. The world around her was out of focus, and it took a while until she recognized her surroundings.

Gleaming white tile. A row of beds. Fluorescent lighting. She was in a hospital.

"Miss. Croft?"

She was startled by the sudden use of her name. She did not recognize that voice.

She turned bleary eyes on the figure she now noticed was sitting at her bedside. It was a nurse.

"Miss. Croft?" she repeated. Lara now realized she had hold of her hand. "Can you hear me?"

"W-what happened?" Lara asked, struggling to grasp her situation, "Where am I?"

"You're in Florence Nightingale Hospital," the nurse replied, "You were shot in the stomach." The nurse paused a second, giving Lara a weak smile before adding: "Can you remember what happened?"

"I-uh," she took a breath, thinking quickly and hoping she was convincing, "I got mugged." She stopped again, injecting distress into her tone, "He tried to take my money, but I fought back. S-so he shot me."

"Is that all you can remember dear?" the nurse asked, "You didn't get a good look at his face?"

Lara shook her head.

"Well, never mind," the nurse told her, although Lara doubted she was totally convinced, "Someone staying in the hotel nearby heard a gunshot. They pulled you out of the water and rushed you here. You were very lucky to pull through."

Lara just nodded, letting this information sink in. Then a thought struck her.

"Was there anyone around when they found me? I-I mean, no-one saw the mugger or anything?"

"No dear," the nurse said, "Nobody reported anyone else at the scene when they found you."

There was silence after this final statement. Lara's eyelids were becoming heavy.

"I'll leave you to get some sleep dear," the nurse said, noticing this and moving away from the bed, towards the door, "If you need anything when you wake up, just push the call button OK? We don't want you walking about trying to find a nurse."

Once she was sure Lara would do no such thing the nurse left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Left alone now, Lara combated the exhaustion which threatened to overcome her. Soon enough though, it was apparent she was not going to be able to stay awake any longer, and she closed her eyes with a sigh.

She fell asleep with the image of Kurtis still fresh in her mind.

* * *

Lara woke up a few hours later. It took less of a struggle to open her eyes this time, and she even had the strength to slowly push herself up into a sitting position. The covers over her slipped down slightly, revealing the hospital garb she was now dressed in. She gingerly lifted her gown to find her torso heavily bandaged. 

Letting her gown fall back over her stomach, she looked about the room. The curtains around her bed were open, and this allowed her to see she was in quite a small room, with four beds standing against the opposite wall. A sign next to the door told her she was in Accident and Emergency. She read the clock on the far wall. Six o' clock.

_But of what day? _she thought.

At that moment the nurse she had spoken with earlier entered the room. When she noticed Lara was awake she rushed over to her bedside, asking her how she felt, fluffing her pillows for her and generally making a huge fuss. Any other day Lara might not have minded this treatment, in fact she would have welcomed it, but there were far more pressing matters to contend with at the moment.

"What day is it?" Lara asked first.

"It's Saturday dear," the nurse replied, busying herself with the trolley holding Lara's meal.

"How long have I been out?"

"Well, I'd say just under 20 hours," the nurse estimated, looking at her wristwatch, "You were rushed in here about 3 this morning."

Lara was silent for a moment, absently watching as the nurse placed a tray of food on the side table.

"My backpack?" she suddenly remembered, looking about her, as if expecting it to be sitting at her bedside, "Was I still wearing my backpack when they brought me in? I had all my money and some valuables in there."

"I'll go and check for you if you want dear," the nurse said, handing Lara over her tray of food, "Eat up. You need to get your strength back."

Lara accepted the tray grudgingly. God, how she hated hospital food. She simply waited for the nurse to leave the room and proceeded to poke at her meal with her plastic fork. She had absolutely no intention of eating this gruel. She was sure the food was what made people at hospital sick in the first place. Perhaps it was all just a huge government conspiracy?

A few minutes passed before the nurse returned. She was carrying Lara's backpack in her arms.

"They dried it off," she explained, placing it on the side table, "I don't think anything was seriously damaged anyways."

Lara pushed her untouched tray of food off her lap and lifted up her backpack. She undid the clasp and tipped the contents onto the bed. Into her lap fell a few medkits, her money and ID cards and the books she had taken from the Prague Archives, along with Werner's notebook.

Everything was in good condition, and yet not everything was still here.

"We had to confiscate your gun I'm afraid," the nurse explained, looking not in the least bit sorry about it, "Hospital policy. I'm sure you understand."

Lara nodded, allowing the nurse to pack everything into her backpack and replace it on the side table. There was no point trying to get back her old weapons. She could easily get some new and better firearms.

"We also collected your motorbike from outside the hotel," the nurse continued, producing Kurtis' set of keys, "Your room and the motorbike were both in the same name. The tyres were blown out, but they replaced them down at the garage."

"Thank you," Lara replied gratefully, accepting the keys with a smile.

"Must've been one hell of a mugging," was the sarcastic reply.

"Yeah," Lara nodded absently, staring down at Kurtis' keys.

"I'll let you eat your meal dear," the nurse said pointedly, pushing the tray back into Lara's lap, "Just call if you want anything."

Lara waited until the nurse had left the room before dumping her tray on the side table and throwing back the bedcovers with a new found energy. Adrenaline, which so many times before had helped her go on in even the most extreme of situations, allowed her to grab her clothes, which lay neatly stacked on a chair by her bedside, and hurriedly pull them on. She had to pause for a few minutes after this task, breathing heavily and clutching her stomach. She made have been a tomb raider, but it still took her a while to recover from life-threatening injuries, no matter what her stubborn mind thought otherwise.

Every second she wasted lying in bed was another second that Karel was tormenting Kurtis. She was not prepared to lose that man so damn soon. She had no time to lose.

She quickly laced up her boots and hitched her backpack over her shoulders. She figured she'd been given a shot of morphine earlier, since she could feel no pain in her injured torso. She shrugged this off, shoving Kurtis' keys into her back pocket and making her way out towards the door. If she could just find a room of medical supplies then all of her problems would be solved, at least for the moment. This was not the first time she had been shot after all.

A noise behind her made her jump. She turned to find a man sitting up in bed, clearly confused as to how and why she had suddenly jumped out of bed and was now leaving Accident and Emergency.

She disguised her continued discomfort from her injury; giving him a sexy smile, raising a finger to her lips and signalling for him to be quiet. Then she slipped silently out of the ward.

**TBC...**

Sorry for the late update, I've been ill all week and incapable of getting out of bed, let alone coming online to update.I would like to say: I am not a doctor. I have no idea about recovery times to do with bullet wounds. This is Lara Croft we're talking about, and I'm assuming she's gonna heal faster and deal with injuries better then the average patient. After all, how many times has she been shot or bitten by giant dinosaurs and not died :S Also, I know zip about Turkish hospitals either, so if any details are wrong I apologise. I was asking my RS teacher about Turkish hospitals and how long it would take to recover if you were shot in the stomach. Needless to say he thought I was insane. He was right? Who said that! >(

**PS:** I've added a bit more into this chapter which I realized I forget to put in earlier :S Thanks for your suggestions The Odd Little Turtle, I think I've worked out a solution to the problem. I just had to turn to a different kind of Tomb Raider. Find out what I mean next chapter!

SilverDragon67 - I think everyone wants to give Kurtis a hug right now! ;) Sorry I didn't manage to update on Monday, but I did try because of what you said. :)

Nikola - Thank you! I'm glad I've got the characters right :) Here is the next update...

Arakanga - Your review was perfect :D

PunkStatik - Yey, you like the ending! (hugs) Guess you won't have to wait to find out about Lara anymore...

AngelTrent2 - hehe Someone is into the story I see :D

dtaylor - Happy? I did actually _not _end this update with an "evil" cliffhanger! lol :D

lara-n-kurtis - hehe Looks like you can't shout at me anymore :) I do love to torture readers and characters alike...

Lady Lara Croft - No, I just meant the whole burning thing. You're leaping to scary conclusions there! Then again... (grins evilly) Thank you, I always try to visualise my stories as movies/tv shows...

Acid-Rush - hehe Yes, I think you might get in a _tad _more trouble if you massacred the policemen. Personally, I would just pay the fee and be on my way...

The Odd Little Turtle - Thanks :D


	20. Business Deals

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**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**»Chapter Nineteen: Business Deals »**

**

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**

Doctors, nurses and random patients bustled down Florence Nightingale Hospital's corridors. In the medical store room, with the door slightly ajar, Lara peered out, desperately searching for the familiar face.

After a few more minutes of waiting she saw who she was looking for, and ducked back into the safety of the store room.

"Miss Croft?" a voice whispered. Into the darkened store room a male nurse now slipped, closing the door carefully behind himself.

"Right here," Lara replied, stepping forwards to meet him, "Have you got what I asked for?"

"Uh-huh," he answered, reaching into his jacket and removing a white paper bag, "Everything's here. Fresh from the pharmacy."

"Fantastic," she said, taking the proffered items and sitting down on a packing crate, "I wasn't sure you'd be able to get everything."

She tipped out the contents of the bag. Out spilled various packed herbs and a bottle of painkillers.

"Do you need anything else?" the male nurse asked, fidgeting by the door.

Lara looked up and gave him a sultry smile.

"Just let me take my medicine," she cooed, "I'll meet you in the men's bathrooms in ten minutes."

"OK, OK," the man agreed, nodding vigorously and practically scampering out of the room like a dog missing its master's leg.

Lara rolled her eyes. Med students. They were all after one thing, and merely hinting at the aforementioned had them crawling on their hands and knees to do your bidding. She had absolutely no intention of following him to the bathroom, and chuckled to herself when she imagined his waiting around for her to come.

She moved over to the table in the corner, clearing the space of any junk before laying out her herbs on the tabletop. An electric kettle stood on a nearby shelf, and she plugged this into the wall socket and proceeded to fill it with water from the sink. Whilst waiting for this to boil she began to prepare her ingredients.

She still remembered vividly her time spent with the Shaman, after the collapse of the tomb in Egypt. The mystic had healed her in both body and mind, using cleansing rituals and herbal remedies. In the North African desert there were not the medical facilities like in the Western world. This meant though that all the ingredients used in the Shaman's remedies and medicines were common plants and herbs, whose mystical properties most people had never before discovered.

One medicine in particular had fascinated Lara; it was a tea which, once drunk, had completely healed a gunshot wound she'd received to her shoulder. After a lot of pleading the Shaman had revealed to her the secret of its making. The process was a simple one, and the herbs were quite easy to find in exotic countries. The mixture had come in handy a lot of times in the past, although she wasn't one hundred percent sure it would work effectively on a wound quite this severe.

Once the kettle had boiled Lara separated out the correct amounts of the herbs, mixing this into the water and gently stirring it until she was certain it was at the right consistency. She poured the tea into a polystyrene cup, holding it up to her lips and blowing on it to keep it cool. Once the temperature was right she drank the whole cup in one go.

She put her cup down, sticking her tongue out in disgust. The tea may have had mystical properties but it still tasted horrible. It was an old Cambodian recipe, discovered by the monks, who had obviously never heard of flavoured tea.

She dared not remove her bandages to see if it had worked just yet. She was feeling a lot stronger on her feet however, and took some painkillers to balance everything out. She then poured the rest of the kettle's contents into a flask and stored everything away in her backpack.

As she exited the room she certainly felt much better, and quickly made her way out of the hospital to the private car park at the side of the building. The motorbike was parked in a place marked simply, 'Reserved', and Lara quickly fit in the keys, gunned the engine and roared out of the hospital gates.

She'd made it out of the hospital alright; now it was time to go see an old friend.

* * *

A vicious pounding at the front door pulled Remy Girard out of a light doze. He rolled his eyes with a sigh, hauling himself out of his armchair and abandoning the television – which was playing some obscure Turkish game show – and approached the front door. 

The knocking sounded again, and Remy said in a strong French accent: "Just a minute!"

He reached the front door, but instead of opening it he instead slid back the metal bar and peered out of the slit.

The words caught in his throat when he recognised the woman standing outside his door.

"Lara Croft?"

"Hello Remy," she replied, arms folded, "Are you going to let me in anytime soon?"

"Oh, right," he replied distractedly, fiddling about with the various locks and bolts on his door. Soon enough the front door swung open, and Lara stepped inside. Remy locked the door again behind her.

"Lara Croft," he repeated, turning to face her, "What brings you to Istanbul?"

"Business," she replied unhelpfully, "I need the whole nine yards: guns, holsters, ammo, explosives…"

Remy just smiled. "Follow me," he said.

* * *

Lara had first met Remy a few years ago, when she'd been travelling to visit the ancient site of Troy. There had been a bit of a misunderstanding at the airport, and she'd had all of her weapons confiscated. A contact had given her the number for a weapons dealer in Istanbul, and she'd ended up on Remy's doorstep. Needless to say he had been more than pleased to do business with her, although things had got out of hand and she'd ended up punching his lights out. Lara Croft was not one to take any crap from the opposite sex. 

She now followed Remy as he led her down the basement steps. He flicked on a wall switch and flooded the dank room with light. Lara could see the basement floor was covered with crates, boxes and various other paraphernalia.

Upon the wall were various cabinets and hooks, and Lara walked right over to a pair of leather holsters and pulled them down. She strapped these onto her thighs and gave a smile. She was feeling better already.

Remy walked over to the opposite wall and began prying at the top of a dusty looking crate. Presently there was a crack as the lid came off, and then a cry of pain as it landed on Remy's foot. He began to hop about clutching his foot, whilst Lara stepped forwards unconcerned and began to examine the crate's contents.

"Excellent," she murmured, taking in the vast array of weaponry. Something caught her eye and her lips pulled up into an easy smile. She reached into the crate and pulled out a pair of pistols.

"God damn," she said, looking the guns over in her hands, before easily twirling them around and slipping them into the holsters at her waist, "You don't know how long it's been since I used these babies."

Remy had finished massaging his injured foot, and stepped in closer.

"I got Uzis, Desert Eagles, Automatics, Shotgun, you name it. Just take what you need."

Lara delved into the crate again, and soon she was equipped with a pair of Uzis in her back holsters and a small knife which slipped into her boot. She needed firepower, but she couldn't risk carrying an entire armoury on her back. She simply took as much as she would need, and as much as she was comfortable with on her person.

She stocked up on enough ammunition for all these weapons, and then turned her attention towards explosives.

Remy rubbed his hands together with glee.

"Alright," he said, moving over to the correct crate and removing its lid, "Got your basic explosives right here: Incinerator, C4… May I ask what you're planning on blowing up?"

"An underground city," Lara stated, "The explosive's gotta be strong enough to blast through solid rock a couple of miles deep."

"No problem," Remy answered, searching through another crate, "I got some TNT somewhere… Ah!" He lifted a bundle of TNT from within the crate. "It's rigged up to a timer. You can set it anywhere up to an hour. For best results I'd suggest you plant it somewhere deep in this underground city. That way you'll get the best structural damage, and hopefully a somewhat contained explosion."

"Perfect," Lara smiled, taking the packaged TNT and slipping it inside her backpack, "I think that's everything I need... How much I do owe you?"

"Let me check it on the computer," he answered, walking over to the computer terminal in the corner. He tapped something on the keyboard. Various figures scrolled across the screen.

"It may take a while," Remy explained, leaning back against the desk, "In the meantime… What _really _brings you to Istanbul? I thought you'd given up tomb raiding for good."

Lara baulked.

"How do you know that?"

Remy shrugged.

"I hear these things."

Lara sighed. "Well, I _thought _I was done with tomb raiding, but some things just come back to bite you in the ass."

"What jaunt you trying to pull though? I thought Lara Croft was preserver of all things ancient, not destroyer."

Lara ran a hand over her face. "It's a long story. I gotta go to Cappadocia and find my partner."

"Partner?" Remy repeated, obviously shocked, "You mean to say Lara Croft has a partner?"

She simply nodded.

"Is it a guy?" At Lara's look a smirk spread across his face. "It _is _a guy, isn't it! Lara Croft has finally let someone in!" He leaned in closer, almost conspiratorially, "Have you guys done it yet?"

A gunshot rang out throughout the room. Remy remained frozen where he stood, his mouth agape in shock. A bullet hole now marred the wall about half an inch from his head.

Lara returned her gun to its holster with a smile, reaching into her shorts and pulling out a wad of notes.

"So nice to see you again Remy," she whispered, tucking the money into his shirt pocket, "Keep the change."

She slipped on her sunglasses and gave him a smile, turning away and ascending the stairs. She closed the basement door behind her with a resounding slam.

Remy remained standing by the computer, eyes still staring at the empty spot of floor where Lara had once stood. Then slowly he succumbed to gravity, and toppled sideways to the floor in a dead faint.

**TBC...

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**Author's Notes  
**hehe I hope everyone enjoyed Remy :) I had a lot of fun writing him. Who knows? If enough people like him he might make an appearance in the next story... This update ended up being quite long because I decided to combine two chapters. The tea thing you might recognise from the first Tomb Raider movie. I thought I'd use a bit of artistic license and fit it into this story, since it ties up the loose ends of Lara's injury so well :D

**lara-n-kurtis **Thank you! I am feeling better, but the good thing is I got like a whole week off! Woooo! Lots of time to write ;)

**The Odd Little Turtle **Thank you for all suggestions! I actually had the tea thing in mind but your review spurred me to put it in. Blame my RS teacher - he said someone could get up one day after surgery :D If you got to throw in a Star Wars reference I'll throw in a Red Dwarf one - "The doctor thought I was feigning illness. He didn't accept it was possible to have Athlete's Hand." LMAO :D

**godavari **lol I don't update _that _fast, do I?

**SilverDragon67 **Thank you :) I do have a tendency to put out chapters before I have my whole plot worked through lol

**dtaylor **hmmm What happened to Kurtis? It just seems to have slipped my mind :D You waited for Lara, so I guess you're gonna have to wait to find out about Kurtis hehe

**Arakanga** Thanks!

**AngelTrent2 **Yes, Lara is safe and well. For now...

**Acid-Rush **Yay! Thanks for the review ;) I've never actually had hospital food before but if it's anything like plane food... :p

**Lady Lara Croft** (hugs the reader) Thank you! Yes, well, you're gonna be seeing a lot of Lara for a while :) Let's get to the tomb raider action shall we? Thank you for your sympathy! Anything that prevents me from reading fanfiction is evil!


	21. Inside Help

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* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**»Chapter Twenty: Inside Help »**

**

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**

The motorcycle's slipstream continued to whip her braid around in a maelstrom of turbulence as Lara turned the vehicle off the main road. A passing car sounded its horn but she ignored the noise, revving the bike's engine and picking up even more speed. It was already early afternoon and she had been driving throughout the night. She was unconcerned of the fact that she was well over the speed limit. She had to make up for a lot of lost time.

The tea she had brewed the previous night had worked its magic. Once she'd removed the bandages from around her torso it was to find her stomach perfectly healed. Indeed, there did not even seem to be any discernible scarring. Lara smiled to herself, twisting the throttle and urging the bike ever onward. Yet another death-defying instance to add to her track record.

The worn tyres finally bounced over the rough track leading into Urgup, Cappadocia. Once a modest quiet little town, Urgup had experienced a recent surge of tourism. Due to this mushrooming of development, a lot of the old buildings were poorly designed and built. The smattering of hotels, banks and various other modern buildings were the only features which distinguished the town as belonging to the 21st century.

Lara was not put off by her surroundings however. The town was of the best bases from which to explore Cappadocia's sprawling rock formations and unique landscape. She rode through town, slowing her speed slightly and easily dispersing the crowds which gathered around the market stalls, selling antiques, ceramics and souvenirs.

It took Lara about ten minutes to find a tourist information office. The tiny cramped building was situated amidst the market stalls, and she dismounted the motorbike, leaving it parked down a narrow alleyway nearby.

The tiny bell above the door jingled as Lara walked in. Inside the shop was slightly larger than it appeared from outside. Rows of tourist books and guides stood against the walls. A rotating rack of postcards and various displays of souvenirs took up a huge amount of floor space. A man milled about by the tourist maps, scanning the shelves disinterestedly. Lara ignored him and stepped up to the desk.

"Excuse me," she called.

The short balding Turkish man arranging displays behind the desk turned around and smiled.

"Hello," he replied in heavily accented English "You are a tourist, no? How may I help you?"

"I'm interested in visiting the underground cities," Lara told him.

The man gave her an approving smile.

"There are many beautiful cities to visit," he answered, moving off to the side and returning with a tourist guidebook. He began to flick through the pages and pushed the book across the table so Lara could see.

"One of the more popular cities to visit is Derinkuyu," He pointed down at the photo on the page. "8 floors of tunnels are open to the public. Very interesting site… There's also Kaymakli, 10 kilometres north of Derinkuyu. Smaller but still a very memorable experience."

Lara responded as nonchalantly as possible: "How many cities have been excavated?"

The man stopped to think for a moment.

"Not many," he said, "There are 40 or so sites but only a few are open to the public. Derinkuyu and Kaymakli are your best bet."

Lara pretended to study the book.

"Are there any cities being excavated at the moment? It's just, I'm fascinated by archaeology. I'd love to see an excavation team at work."

"As a matter of fact there is," the man told her, "Been working for a few months. I've passed the site a few times in my truck. I do a couple of odd delivery jobs on the side."

Lara asked eagerly: "Do you think you could give me directions to the site?"

"Certainly," he told her. Lara waited patiently at the desk as the man jotted something down on a piece of paper. "There you go." He handed Lara the slip of paper.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, glancing down at the words. She skimmed across the halting directions and her eyes widened. The last line read: _"The man in the corner is watching you."_

She looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but the man behind the counter gave her a stern glance.

"I hope you enjoy your stay in Cappadocia," he said rather falsely, flashing her a smile and then moving off to busy himself with some immaculate looking displays.

Lara stood still for a second. She longed to turn her head and see whether or not the man in the corner was watching her, but if she did he would know she was onto him. Instead she walked as casually as she could out of the store. As she was pushing the door open she caught a glimpse of the man's reflection in the window. He had moved from his position by the maps and was walking out of the door after her.

Quickly she slipped out of the doorway, turning down the alleyway beside the shop and flattening herself against the wall. There was a jingle as the door of the shop opened. Lara snatched the most careful of glances around the corner. The man was turning his head this way and that, searching for her. Then he looked straight at her.

"Shit!" she cursed, throwing herself away from the wall. Her left hand subconsciously reached for the pistol at her thigh. She stopped herself in time. She had to know who this guy was. She quickly scanned her surroundings.

* * *

The man strode towards the side of the building where he had seen the woman disappear. He'd overheard her asking the shopkeeper about the site currently under excavation near Derinkuyu. He could not let her get away so easily. 

He reached the end of the building and quickly turned the corner. He was met with an empty alleyway. He paused, confused. The alley led to a dead end. There was no other way out.

The noise reached his ears far too late. He had barely turned and caught a glimpse of his attacker before a fist connected with the back of his head. He staggered dazed for a moment until he was slammed face first into the alley wall. Cold metal pressed up against his head.

"Why are you following me?" Lara demanded, breathing hard. It had taken a lot of effort to scale the alley wall and stretch her legs in a spread eagle - so that she was balanced above her attacker in a splits position - and drop down to catch him unawares. Her fist smarted from where it had struck him in the head.

The man gave a cry of pain but no discernible answer. Lara was getting extremely frustrated.

"I'll make this a little easier shall I?" she said angrily, "You've been sent by _Master _Karel to kill me. Is that it?"

"No, you've got it all wrong!" the man replied, "I just overheard you asking about the excavation site. Honestly, I just wanted to talk to you."

Lara raised her eyebrows.

"Go on," she told him.

"I work there," the man continued, "As a truck driver: transporting goods; drills, blasting explosives, all kinds of excavation equipment… Right from the start the place has had a weird vibe to it. The whole time I've been there I haven't seen any archaeological work whatsoever. It's as though they're only interested in reaching the lower chambers of the underground city. Apparently there's some of kind of ritualistic chamber down there."

"You seem to know an awful lot for a simple truck driver," Lara replied skeptically, still with her gun pressed up against his head.

"I overheard the guards talking," he explained, "There's something big going down tonight. A load of vehicles arrived this morning. I wasn't allowed very close, but I managed to see enough to realize they aren't digging for the sake of archaeology. There was a guy with them and he definitely didn't look very happy to be there."

Lara slowly dropped her pistol down to her side. He was talking about Kurtis. She just knew it.

The man stood up straight, now that Lara's gun was no longer aimed at his head.

After a moment's silence he spoke up.

"You know him?"

Lara nodded distractedly.

"Yeah," she replied, "Yeah, I know him." A second later she seemed to come back to her senses. "How did he look? Was he badly hurt?"

The man shrugged.

"Like I said, I wasn't allowed very close. He did look a little worse for wear, but I couldn't really tell from that distance."

Lara let out a sigh. Knowing that Kurtis was at least alive was a massive weight off her shoulders. She studied the man before her with increased scrutiny. Was she totally sure she could trust him? Then again, Karel had left her for dead the other night. There was no way he could know she was here, in Cappadocia. Right?

After a while she asked: "What's your name?"

"Jake" he told her.

"I'm Lara," she offered, extending her hand. Jake reached out and shook it.

"Listen Jake," she said, "This guy - he's my partner. And I need to get to this excavation site as quickly as possible and stop them from killing him."

Jake looked slightly alarmed, and yet nodded in agreement.

"What's security like on site?" she asked.

"They've got armed soldiers guarding the place day and night," Jake answered, "You'll be hard-pressed to get in there without inside help."

"You mean without _your _help."

Jake simply nodded.

Lara looked hard at the man before her. After a while she said: "Alright, I'm in. Help me get inside this site - undetected and unscathed - and you will continue to breathe. But if you're lying to me…" She waved her pistol before his face.

Jake simply swallowed past the lump in his throat.

Lara walked over and got on the motorbike. She glanced at Jake expectantly.

"What?" Jake asked, "Right now?"

"Right now," Lara told him.

Somewhat reluctantly, Jake walked over and sat behind Lara on the bike. She turned the keys and gunned the engine, bringing the bike around in a full turn and speeding out of the alley, once more dispersing the crowds of bargain seekers and leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

**TBC…

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Sorry for the delayed update. I had a severe case of writers block, coupled with the fact my dad was hogging the computer doing work :s I think there will be a maximum of ten chapters of this story left. Then I am going to need to start on the sequel... Thank you to everyone who reviewed. We passed the 100 reviews mark :D

**The Odd Little Turtle** Yup, I am all better now. Thank you for your concern :)

**Acid-Rush** hehe Yes, TNT is definitely a lot of fun :D Glad you liked Remy! I actually watched Tomb Raider again recently because of the Bryce/Hillary madness in your story. I fell in love with the characters all over again :D

**nickless** lol Well, I left a long while between updates this time… :)

**AngelTrent2** I'm not sure where I got the name Remy from actually. I was looking up a lot of French names for my novel and it must have stuck in the back of my mind. :D Sorry I didn't update as quickly this time around!

**SilverDragon67 **Wow, I did actually envision Remy a bit like Danny de Vito, except a little skinnier :D lol Lara throwing him out of a car? Well, he'll be in the next story, so you never know :)

**dtaylor **(hands over some cookies) There you go! lol I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait a tad longer… Oh well, that just means more cookies:D

**godavari** :D Glad you liked the ending! You are able to glean a little information about Kurtis from this chapter, but not enough to satisfy I reckon. :) All in time…

**lara-n-kurtis **Kurtis is alive, that's all you will know for now :) Don't worry, a reunion is forthcoming…

**Arakanga **Thank you! Sorry about the wait :s

**PunkStatik **Thanks :) I'm looking forward to reading your next chapter…

**Lady Lara Croft **lol I'm not sure whether you were the 100th reviewer, but lets pretend you were anyway. Woooo! Well done for being the 100th reviewer! Woooo:)

**NikolaTiana **I'm a little embarrassed now. I did leave everyone waiting for this chapter after all… :D

**Sekhemnet **(shrugs) Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I do try to only use swearing where appropriate though :s

**Brightbear **(hugs the reader) Thank you:D I updated especially quickly because of your review :)


	22. Realizations

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**» Chapter Twenty One: Realizations »**

**

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**

The landscape of Cappadocia was widely varied, with sprawling deserts, vast mountain ridges and unusual rock formations. Along the barren rocky desert a motorbike now sped, impeded from reaching its maximum velocity by the uneven terrain. Nevertheless, it quickly raced along the wide dusty track left by a convoy of transport vehicles.

Clinging desperately to the back of the motorbike, Jake squinted his eyes against the glare of the afternoon sun. He struggled to be heard over the roar of the engine.

"This is it. We're here."

Lara simply nodded, hanging a hard left and turning off the transport road. She slowed her speed considerably, bringing the bike to a standstill behind the cover of an area of raised ground. In the near distance the road tailed off into the centre of the excavation site.

"We're gonna have to leave the bike here and carry on by foot," Lara explained, swinging her legs over the side, "What's the most discreet route into this place?"

Jake got off the back of the bike.

"Definitely along the transport road. You can easily hop into the back of a truck and get a free ride in."

Lara looked hard at Jake.

"Seems a little too easy," she replied suspiciously.

Jake shrugged.

"Sometimes these things are. Besides, I'll be up front. I can sweet talk the guards and make sure they don't search the back."

"Fine," Lara told him, "But remember our little arrangement." Her hand hovered delicately above the holstered pistol at her thigh.

Jake smiled uneasily.

"Don't worry. Just trying to help." He held up his hands to show he meant no harm before turning away towards the excavation site, picking his way carefully across the rocky ground. Lara hung back for a moment, scrutinising the man carefully. She wasn't exactly sure she trusted this guy, but on the other hand he was her only means of getting inside undetected.

Lara sighed, lowering her hand from where it rested against her pistol. She followed in his footsteps.

* * *

The truck radio pounded out some obscure Turkish music, disturbing the surface of a half-drunken cup of coffee which rested on the dashboard. A dark haired man with a thick moustache sat comfortably in the driver's seat, legs crossed and propped up against the steering wheel, one foot tapping lazily to the rhythm. He reached out for his coffee and took a grateful sip. The Turkish afternoon may have been a hot one, but he was currently on hour twenty two of his shift. Security was pretty lax along the transport road. The truck driver was parked just off to the side of the dusty track, taking his break and reading a day-old newspaper. The job may have had difficult hours, but the paycheck he would receive at the end of the day would more than make up for his recent lack of sleep. 

"Affedersiniz!"

The truck driver turned down his radio slightly, leaning out of his open window and searching for the owner of the voice.

Jake walked up towards the front of the truck, smiling in greeting.

"Merhaba. Inglizche biliyor-musun?"

"Yes, I speak English," the truck driver replied, leaning his arms against the edge of the window.

"Great," Jake told him, smiling in relief, "My Turkish is a bit limited."

The truck driver looked hard at the man before him.

"Do you work here?"

"Yeah," Jake said quickly, "I'm in charge of maintenance. I'm afraid I can't let you drive this thing."

The truck driver looked confused. "Is there some kind of problem?"

Jake nodded, waving towards the back wheels.

"Afraid you've got a damaged back axel," he answered.

"What?" The truck driver threw open the cab door, climbing out and quickly moving to the back of the truck to inspect his wheels.

As he bent down for a closer inspection something hard connected with the back of his head. He crumpled in a heap onto the dusty ground.

Lara looked at the unconscious form below her, idly twirling her pistol about her fingers.

"Good job," Jake said, glancing down at the truck driver. He replied a little more apprehensively: "He isn't dead, is he?" He really didn't want anyone to get killed.

Lara bent down and put her fingers to his neck.

"No," she replied after a second, "But I did whack him with the pistol a bit harder than I should have done…" She lifted up one of his eyelids. "He's out cold. Won't wake up for at least a few hours."

"Where are we gonna hide him?" Jake asked.

"In the back of the truck," Lara replied, "Give me a hand will you?"

They proceeded to shoulder the truck driver's weight and haul him into the back of the truck. The task was not an easy one, as the man was very tall and Lara was feeling the effects of days of non-stop adventuring. Finally though, they dropped his unconscious body into the cargo hold.

Jake bent over the man's form and began searching through his pockets. He pulled out a pair of keys and a security and ID card. These items he then slipped inside the pocket of his trousers.

"Do you not already have a security card?" Lara asked him.

"Yeah," Jake told her, producing his card, "Low-level security clearance. We wouldn't get very far. I only drive the trucks into the compound; I'm not allowed much access elsewhere."

He pushed back the tarp which covered the back of the truck and jumped down, walking around to the front, getting into the driver's cab, starting the engine and slamming the door shut beside him. Lara leaned back heavily against a stack of crates as the truck lurched forwards.

Soon the motion of the vehicle became a little more steady, and Lara settled down on the floor of the cargo hold, mulling over the events of the past few days. A gunshot sounded in her mind, and subconsciously she put a hand to her stomach. A whirlwind of images flashed behind her eyes.

The bullet to her stomach, drifting near-death in the water… These events had already been relayed to her in that terrible dream, but with everything that had been happening recently she had almost forgotten about it. What else had she seen in that nightmare? She strained her mind, opening her eyes with a little gasp. Kurtis. She'd dreamt of killing Kurtis.

_No_, she said to herself, squeezing her eyes shut in determination, _Just because I dreamt it does _not_ mean it is going to come true. Why would I kill Kurtis? I love that bastard._

Despite the rational part of her mind which told her it was not possible, the irrational part still worried. Who knew what state she might find Kurtis in? Perhaps killing him would be the merciful thing to do…

Voices from outside pulled her from her thoughts. The muffled speech was Turkish, and Lara's knowledge of the language was nothing to write home about. True, she could hardly make out what was being said anyways over the blare of the radio, so translation was near to impossible.

From what she could hear the conversation was a friendly one, and sure enough the truck once more continued onwards. She let out a soft sigh and leant her head back against a crate, sitting as she was with one leg bent and the other lying beneath her. The truck's wheels stumbled again as they passed over the rocky ground, and Lara rolled her eyes. So much for a smooth ride.

It was a few minutes later when the truck stopped again.

More voices, and from the sound of it they were challenging Jake's security clearance. Lara strained her ears to understand what was being said. She managed to catch one word amidst the Turkish speech; "_Kadın" _Woman.

"Oh shit," Lara muttered, scrambling to her feet and reaching for her pistols.

The tarp at the back of the truck was thrown open, and half a dozen soldiers stood, weapons all pointing at Lara.

"Freeze!" the lead soldier barked, motioning with his rifle.

Slowly, hesitatingly, Lara raised her arms to her sides in surrender. Swiftly the soldiers climbed into the back of the truck and disarmed her. Lara watched with growing anger as her newly-recovered pistols were taken from her.

Lara's shoulders were roughly jerked as her backpack was stripped off of her. Then rough hands gripped her forearms and half-pushed, half-pulled her out of the back of the truck.

There was no doubt in her mind that Jake had betrayed her, and when she emerged into the bright Turkish outdoors it was to find Jake standing by the truck, smirking evilly. She pulled against the men who held in her in an attempt to punch the guy's lights out.

"What can I say Lara?" he replied amusedly, "I'm only a truck driver. Opportunities like this only come once in a lifetime."

"You bastard!" she spat, struggling against the soldiers.

Jake simply rolled his eyes.

"Take her away," the lead soldier ordered.

Lara threw Jake one last deadly glance before the soldiers hauled her away.

"I am personally going to shoot out both your legs and stab you through the heart," Lara promised him, her voice a deathly whisper.

Jake hid his fear well, and the last thing Lara heard him say was: "I'm the one who gets all the credit for bringing her."

She was forced to turn around and concentrate on her predicament when one of the soldiers roughly pushed her forwards, causing her to stumble upon the uneven ground. She looked up and found herself at the entrance to the dig. She had a split second to realize her heart-pounding terror before she was pushed into the waiting darkness.

They were taking her straight to Karel.

**TBC…**

**Affedersiniz!** – Excuse me!

**Merhaba. Inglizche biliyor-musun? **– Hello. Do you speak English?

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Hmmm, am I allowed to use the writer's block excuse twice in a row? Sorry everyone for the lateness of this chapter. I've had a lot of art GCSE work piled on me recently, and it may be another week or so when I am not totally stressed out and able to write again. I've got the basic outline of the rest of this story figured out, I just need to write it in more detail. Boy, are you lot in for some cliffhangers! (evil grin)

**The Odd Little Turtle** Sorry for the wait :(

**godavari** You were able to see through Jake right from the start! Have a cookie :D

**Lady Lara Croft** Personally I prefer the new format, although it was a little hard on the eyes at first :s lol Of course I was gonna update! I'm not going to abandon my story. It's so annoying when you read something and the person never updates or finishes it…

**Brightbear **Hmmm, yes, Kurtis is probably hurting a whole lot right now. You'll just have to wait and see!

**dtaylor** lol (hands over milk) Yeah, but then again Lara isn't exactly herself right now, and I think she'd take anyone's help if it meant she could reach Kurtis in time. Love is weird like that…

**Angel-Trent2** Thanks! You can all start hating Jake now… :)

**Jordana Trent **Do not worry - reunion soon! And yes, more Nephilim (hiss) :D

**Arakanga** Thank you!

**N.F.I** Love the new penname! I don't suppose you'll be liking Jake much after this :D

**Acid-Rush** Don't worry, there will be plenty of deadpan humour - just need to get through the angst first lol Don't worry about it, I've been quite addicted to 24 in recent weeks… Glad to see you sticking with this story this whole time! (hugs Acid-Rush)


	23. Tipping The Balance

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* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**» Chapter Twenty Two: Tipping The Balance ****»**

**

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**

Lara's guards led her along endless narrow winding stone corridors, taking so many twists and turns Lara was losing all sense of direction. She wasn't used to feeling so helpless in such an environment. 

Suddenly in the darkness the glint of metal became apparent to Lara's eyes. Cautiously she looked towards its source and saw a pistol lodged in the waistband of the guard walking before her. She could easily reach forwards and snatch it from the soldier, but in such closed quarters a surprise attack could prove very difficult, not to mention dangerous. She continued on, head downwards, waiting for the right moment. It came sooner than she had expected.

The tunnel suddenly opened out into a wide passageway. Oil lamps hung along the roof, casting wavering shadows across the stone walls. Directly opposite was the mouth of the next tunnel, with a huge stone disc lying nearby. It was obvious the stone had once acted as a door.

"Move," one of the soldiers muttered, giving Lara a none too gentle shove forwards. She narrowed her eyes in contempt, but continued onwards with forced control. She balled up her fists.

The group was halfway across the length of the room when one of the soldiers gave the command to stop. The man strode over to the right wall, where Lara noticed one of the oil lamps had burnt out.

One of the men guarding Lara muttered something unintelligible in Turkish. It was obvious however that he wanted the other man to leave the oil lamp be. He stepped forwards and Lara recognised the Turkish word for 'delay'. Some of the other guards began fidgeting. Their attention was divided.

Without warning Lara grabbed for the elusive pistol. Before the guard could even cry for his missing weapon she had hooked an arm around his neck, pulled him to her and jammed the gun against his temple.

All at once the other guards' weapons converged on her and her human shield. With no-one at her back she began to slowly back away. The open space of the passage made maneuverability possible.

"Drop your weapon!" one of the soldiers shouted. Lara simply raised an eyebrow. He really wasn't in any position to be handing out orders.

There was a moment as soldiers and tomb raider faced off. Lara acted quickly, as she knew how the situation was going to play out.

"Open fire!" one of the men yelled.

Lara had already let go of the man she held and flung herself sideways. She landed and quickly rolled to the side, behind the cover of the passageway they had just entered. A nearby thud informed her that the soldiers' bullets had hit the wrong person.

Bullets ricocheted off the wall by her head, covering her in fragments of rock. She waited for a momentary lapse in the shooting, and, when it came, quickly shot off a few rounds at the men. Her aim was true, and each of her shots hit their target. Three men fell: one with a bullet in the head, two with bullets in the chest.

Lara cursed as she was forced to shelter once more behind the wall. The two remaining guards had opened fire on her position. She heard approaching footsteps and realized they were coming right at her.

Thinking quickly in a dangerous situation Lara tried the most desperate trick in her arsenal. Gripping her lone pistol a little tighter she tensed her knees, pushing off the ground hard. She slid out from behind the cover of the wall, skirting along the ground on her side and shooting at her attackers' feet.

Both fell, wounded. Quickly Lara scrambled to her feet and shot one in the chest. He lay still. She aimed her weapon on the last man but her pistol clicked, signifying that she was out of ammunition.

Annoyed, Lara threw away the useless weapon and stepped up to the guard.

"I guess it's your lucky day," she told him, grabbing him by the collar and forcing him to his feet, "You get to die in a more painful way."

The man's eyes widened. Lara gave him a sexy smile and reared back her foot, kicking him right in the crotch. The guard bent double in pain, completely unsuspecting of the move. Lara then reared back her fist and smashed it into the side of the final guard's face. He was knocked completely off balance, allowing her to drop to the ground and throw out her leg, catching the man around the ankles and sending him crashing to the ground.

Whilst the man was still down, Lara quickly retrieved a weapon which lay next to the other downed guards. She aimed the weapon and shot the man in the head. He died instantly.

Lara stood panting heavily, clutching the gun in her hand. About her feet lay six dead bodies. For a moment she simply stood, astounded by the speed in which everything had happened.

A smile spread over Lara's face. Perhaps it was just the thrill of adventure or the adrenaline which rushed through her veins, but she suddenly felt it again. The sense of awe that had got her where she was today. The sense of duty she bore which helped her achieve things few other mortals had. But now it was stronger. She no longer had to just recover an artefact or save the world. This time she was in love, and there was nothing that was going to stop her winning back that love. God knows she deserved it.

After a moment or two the feeling faded, albeit slightly. Lara searched the bodies of the guards and recovered all of her lost weapons, helping herself to some extra ammunition. She could not carry any extra weaponry but now she was well prepared in case any seriously long battles were to ensue. She also retrieved her backpack, searching its contents to make sure she still had her explosives. For a split second she briefly entertained the idea of going back to take care of Jake, but decided she had wasted enough time as it was. She had to find Kurtis as quickly as possible.

Lara paused over the body of the final guard, noticing the satchel about his waist. She searched inside and found a piece of paper which she hastily unfolded. It was a map of the complex, with everything clearly marked in black ink. In the right hand corner however there was an area marked in red. Lara peered closely and read the barely legible writing scrawled next to it.

_Belgili tanımlık merkez _

"The Heart," she whispered. She studied the map carefully, mentally mapping a path through the passages. She was interrupted by the sounds of approaching men.

Hurriedly she stuffed the map into the back pocket of her shorts and armed her pistols. A rain of gunfire hit the wall alarmingly close to her position, and she was forced to retreat behind the cover of the adjoining passageway. She stayed perfectly still, her pistols held ready. The gunfire had stopped, and she risked a glance around the corner.

Three soldiers advanced into the passageway, their weapons held ready. They had obviously heard the sounds of the earlier battle. One stopped and checked over one of the bodies littering the floor. The other two approached Lara's hiding place.

Lara threw herself out from behind the wall, guns blazing. She had the element of surprise, and two of the soldiers dropped at once. The last was still in the process of standing up and lifting his gun. Lara rushed forwards and kicked the weapon from his hands. A second later her boot connected with the man's head. He stayed upright, swaying slightly. Lara finished him off by launching off the wall at her side, kicking him square in the head and sending him noiselessly to the floor.

Lara stopped to catch her breath, straining her hearing for any approaching enemies. No sounds reached her ears, and she relieved her guns of their empty cartridges, reloading with ammunition she had taken from the downed guards.

She holstered her guns, retrieving the map from her back pocket and studying it once more. She then set off in the relevant direction, towards the Heart.

* * *

Deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of passages Lara had travelled. Security was becoming progressively tighter as she neared the Heart, and she'd had one too many narrow escapes. Her lip was bleeding and she had suffered a few minor cuts and bruises, but apart from that she was still alive and ready for combat. 

She swallowed past the dryness in her throat. Stealth had never been her forte. Sure, she had some basic knowledge of the skill, but her method was more often than not taking on her opponents, guns blazing with no regard for secrecy. Down here below the Cappadocian desert there was a disquiet Lara had never felt before. It was like she was waiting for something spectacular to happen before her eyes.

She turned another corner, guns first, and relaxed her stance when she found the coast to be clear. According to her map she was almost on top of the Heart. Why then were there no enemies to be seen?

Lara ventured forwards down the passage, her breathing shallow and quick. The scraping of her boots on the floor seemed deafening. She silently cursed the narrow echoing passages. It made it so much harder to get around undetected.

She flung herself around the next corner. Nothing. With quickened footsteps she continued down the next passageway. Perhaps she had reached the Heart sooner than expected…

Her thoughts drifted ahead, as far as she would let them. In her mind there seemed to be only two scenarios. Either find a way to prevent the ritual and get Kurtis out of there, or to blow the whole place into the stratosphere. After all, it would be much better to stop the ritual and take herself out in the process then see the earth overrun…

There was a noise from the tunnel behind her. Lara spun around, guns at the ready. She was greeted by two adversaries. Lara broke out into a sprint, her guns held high, quickly taking them down in a rapid volley of gunfire. They did not even have the chance to aim their weapons.

A noise to her right caused her to swiftly roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the gunfire of another soldier who had appeared from the right corridor.

She stayed in a crouched position, guns at the ready as she fought to control her breathing. Fragments of rock were thrown down from the stone behind her, and when the volley of gunfire ended she spun, catching her attacker in the chest with a barrage of bullets. He dropped to the ground and did not get up again.

Lara wiped away the blood dripping from her mouth and listened closely for the sounds of any further adversaries. Silence greeted her. She was always overly-cautious however, and quickly reloaded her pistols and closed the chambers with a satisfying click.

She proceeded through the tunnel from which her latest opponent had appeared; pistols before her and alert to the slightest of foreign sounds.

She reached a right turning, flattening herself against the hard rock wall and peering around the corner. The corridor before her was once again empty, and she started down it, getting more apprehensive by the minute.

She had taken a further three turns through empty stone corridors when she noticed the passage becoming lighter. There was some kind of golden light emanating ahead, and Lara quickened her pace towards its source.

When she turned the next corner and saw the scene which awaited her she could not help but gasp.

**TBC…**

* * *

**Author's Notes**

So sorry for the cliffie, although only a mild one this time around. It was just such a perfect way to end the chapter... I am currently 5 hours into a 10 hour art GCSE, which means in a week's time I will have completed a GCSE. Woohoo! Only about 10 to go... Hopefully I will have plenty of time to write again after the fact. As usual, thank you to everyone who reviewed. It really is nice to finish an exam and come home to your lovely comments :)

**Lady Lara Croft **Thank you! And yes, cliffies are extremely fun :D Thank you for your concern. I have never been very good at balancing commitments. In my mind fanfiction comes above all else, but GCSE's are important, or so I've been told lol

**AngelTrent **Yup, Jake is one evil dude. He deserves to get his comeuppance...

**Arakanga **Thanks! I am very flattered :)

**dtaylor** Thanks! I'm glad you liked the Turkish. I spent a while looking up phrases.

**Acid-Rush** hehe Your stories rock too! Yup, Kurtis is definitely the definition of cool. Look up the word in the dictionary and there's a pic of him:D I don't really have an excuse for updating late this time round... I'm sorry (cries) ;)

**godavari **hehe Well this chapter answered your question about Lara, but none of the others I'm afraid. I guess you're gonna have to wait until the next update...

**The Odd Little Turtle **Ah, someone who approves of cliffies :) Thank you!

**N.F.I **lol Don't worry, I'm probably the laziest person in the world. :D

**Brightbear **Just you wait... :)


	24. The Other Side

**

* * *

**

**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**» Chapter Twenty Three: The Other Side** **»**

**

* * *

**

Lit by a number of flaming sconces set along the walls, a circle of figures were bowed as if in prayer in the middle of the circular chamber. A low wall ran along the room's perimeter, decorated with stone pillars and window-like gaps set every so often along its length. The murmured chanting which now filled the air was in a language Lara most definitely did not know.

She recognised the scene before her from her dream so long ago. That knowledge made her mad with fear. Now everything had come true, apart from the one thing she was most afraid of…

She scanned her surroundings for some sign of Kurtis or Karel, but could not make out anything further in the distant shadows. The torches only illuminated the space a few feet in front of her. There was no daylight down here, and so without any lighting the middle of the room was dark indeed.

She looked again towards the chanting figures. She narrowed her eyes in confusion. What were they kneeling before?

On the far side of the room one of the kneeling figures got up from where they knelt. Lara watched as the figure held out their arm, pulling back the sleeve of the long robe they wore. Something glinted in the light of the fire, and Lara's eyes widened as she watched the person cut a horizontal gash across their forearm with a wicked looking knife. The wound was not deep, and the figure held out their arm and let the blood drip onto the stone floor.

Lara now noticed the channels which ran the length of the floor, forming a circle about the middle of the room and running with straight lines into the centre. After the person had let their blood pool into the channel the other chanting figures made their own contribution. Soon enough blood had been spilt to fill the channels, and it flowed towards the centre of the room, filling the grooves with crimson. Lara could now make out the pentagram-like symbol in the centre of the room.

All of the figures remained standing, and extended their arms out towards the symbol. As one they chanted an indecipherable word. Suddenly the blood-filled channels burst into purple flame.

The figures began again to chant, and the flames began to burn even brighter, seemingly awoken by these words. The flames cast long shadows across the room, but they also threw into sharp relief the figure standing amidst their depths.

Lara almost cried out loud when she recognised Kurtis.

He hung limply from his chains; head slumped down onto his chest. Lara could not tell from this distance whether or not he was breathing, but the mass of cuts and blood covering his body did not bode well. His shirt was ripped open from the collar to his navel, with nasty-looking bruises and marks covering the exposed flesh. Lara realised with a dread chill that those were _burn_ marks on his chest.

She would have rushed out from her hiding place there and then, guns blazing to take out anyone in her way, if not for the figure that seemed to emerge from the darkness.

"Karel," she breathed, watching as the Nephilim stepped neatly over the flaming pentagram. He approached Kurtis, grabbing a handful of his hair with one gloved hand and yanking his head back, giving Lara a clear view of Kurtis' face.

This time Lara did not even manage to hide her cry of shock.

Kurtis' face was barely recognisable. A deep gash ran along his forehead, plastering his hairline with dried blood. His right eye was so swelled up that Lara could not imagine anyone ever being able to see out of it again. His mouth, which so many times before had sported his trademark smirk, was no more than a thin pale line matted with blood. More blood ran freely from the gash along his forehead, staining the whole right side of his face with crimson. Lara doubted he could be alive after sustaining such damage.

Karel was running his fingers down the blood covering Kurtis' face, lifting his hand to Kurtis' forehead and smearing a bloody symbol across it. Lara recognised this as the same symbol imprinted on Karel's palm.

Whilst Karel was drawing the sign on his forehead, Kurtis' eyes had suddenly flickered open, piercing blue beneath the mass of crimson. His chest heaved suddenly, and he was racked with coughs as the pain of consciousness returned to him.

The chanting seized, and all eyes in the room were suddenly fixed upon Karel. Everyone's eyes that is, except for Kurtis, who was now peering disbelievingly at the woman standing in the chamber's entranceway.

"Lara?" he whispered.

There was a moment as their eyes met and held, and Lara saw reflected there a spark of hope she realised had long been extinguished.

Kurtis' whisper had been so quiet Lara doubted anyone would have heard it, but Karel was unfortunately blessed with heightened Nephilim hearing. He spun and stared straight at Lara, his features for a moment frozen with shock, then confusion, then anger.

"Miss Croft," he finally said, his voice deathly calm, "How positively delighted I am to see you again." He sounded anything but it.

Lara had not moved an inch from where she stood. She was frozen to the spot, horrified and concerned by Kurtis' condition. It was not until the chanting figures before her threw off their robes, revealing themselves as Gunderson and his men, that she was aware of the danger she was in.

The soldiers quickly armed their weapons and pointed them at Lara, though they awaited the command to shoot. Lara simply stood, one hand resting reassuringly on her pistol. She did not want to risk going for her guns in case an all-out battle broke out. She was extremely aware of the difficult position it put Kurtis in.

Gunderson stepped up so he was just slightly behind Karel. He restlessly held his assault rifle.

"Master Karel-" he began.

The Nephilim silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"Since you are here," Karel said, his gaze never leaving Lara's face, "Why not take me up on that offer? After all, it is the only way you are going to get out of here alive."

Lara raised a stolid eyebrow.

"How about it Lara?" Karel's eyes seemed to gleam with promise, "We can start a new world order – together. You'll never have to feel the burden of mortality again…"

Lara reached for the pistols at her thighs. It was sickening her to her very core to hear Karel speak of such things. Yes, she had been through hell and back, but she had found someone who had been through the same. If Kurtis could survive in this world, then she was going to stay right alongside him. There was no way she would ever team up with Karel and betray him like that. That would be taking the easy way out, and Lara knew that the easy path was not necessarily the right one.

Before her there was a general feeling of unease. Karel had not given the command to shoot yet, and all the men were restlessly handling their weapons.

"You can end all the pain right now Lara," Karel continued, ignoring his men, "You can end it all," He held out a very sharp ritualistic-looking knife. "With one swift stroke." He raised the blade out towards her, offering it openly. With the other hand he indicated the hanging form of Kurtis.

A surge of anger and horror engulfed Lara's being. The image in her dream flashed before her eyes.

Without hesitation she lifted her guns and opened fire at the men before her. She managed to take a few out in rapid succession: partly because they had not expected the attack, and partly because of the ferocity and skill with which she fired.

Her advantage only lasted a few moments however, and soon the men returned fire. She flung herself behind a nearby stone pillar and cursed. Bullets rained down on her, reducing the masonry work to nothing more than crumbling dust.

Quickly she sprinted away, keeping low and shooting at the soldiers through the gaps in the perimeter wall. Another two opponents fell, but she was forced to swiftly roll to the side as an avalanche of fire was thrown her way.

The remaining men had followed her path behind the shelter of the wall. She discarded her pistols and armed her Uzis, leaping to her feet with a new-found vigour. Head on she ran at the men, mowing down the majority with Uzi fire before their bullets found a mark.

Two men were left, and Lara found herself right in between them. They both raised their weapons and fired, and at the last possible moment Lara dropped to the ground. Both men fell, hit by their own gunfire.

She lay on all fours, panting. Her knees were scuffed and her hair was covered in fragments of rock. She licked at her lips and tasted blood.

Uzi clips littered the chamber floor. In the wake of the battle Lara reloaded her weapons. Silence fell for a time, misleading and threatening. Lara broke it as she pushed herself up against the wall, scrabbling against the ravaged stone. She let out a soft cry of pain and looked down at her arm. A bullet had clipped her, just below the shoulder. The wound was not deep or life-threatening, but a healthy rivulet of blood now flowed down to her forearm.

Karel's voice echoed around the chamber. "I really had hoped you would take me up on the offer Lara. Now you are going to have to watch him die by my hand."

Lara peered out from behind the pillar.

She gasped.

Karel had one hand tangled in Kurtis' hair, and the other held the knife he had offered earlier to Kurtis' throat. A thin line of blood decorated the edge of the blade. Kurtis' eyes were closed, but whether out of fear or acceptance Lara could not tell.

"Not everything in this world is black and white Lara," Karel told her, "You may think you are doing what is right, but in the end your efforts are not going to matter. All your life you have just been stemming the flow, but soon enough the dam will break. Evil is just waiting for its time, and if you continue to fight it, then you will be the first to fall…You are going to die, one way or another. Why not just give up and embrace the darkness?"

Lara's eyes narrowed in anger. If she was going to die, she was going to take Karel with her.

She threw herself out from behind the stone pillar, aiming her Uzis and letting loose a short burst of gunfire. She hit her target, and Marten Gunderson was riddled with bullets. She had heard his footsteps and knew he approached her refuge. There was a short moment as he stood, mouth agape in shock, the blood tricking from his parted lips. Then his rifle clattered uselessly to the floor and he fell heavily with a thud.

Lara watched him fall without pity. Quickly she ducked again behind the pillar. She panted, her sweat-drenched hair falling heavily about her face. Now the only person between her and Kurtis was Karel himself.

The Nephilim did not even blink.

"I can easily replace him," he told her, "Gunderson was weak, just like the rest of your pathetic race."

Lara tried to block out Karel's voice as she crouched behind the stone pillar.

"Give it up Miss. Croft," he continued, impatience creeping into his tone, "It is over. You have lost. Time just ran out."

"I gotta say Karel," Lara shot back, emerging from behind the pillar, "You're finally right about something."

She held out her arms so that Karel had a clear view of the timed explosives she now carried.

The timer counted down to 0:00.

**TBC…**

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**Author's Notes**

What a truly explosive ending! Sorry, sorry, I had to get a really bad pun in there ;) I'm going on an American Exchange to New Hampshire on the 7th till the 17th of April. I'm not sure if I will get another chapter out before then, since I am supposed to be spending the Easter holidays revising for stupid GCSEs… Perhaps a load of reviews will change my mind. :D I have a very long plane journey there, so hopefully I will get a lot of writing done on the plane. I might even get started on the sequel :D

**Nikola **Argh! New reviewer :D

**Lady Lara Croft **Am I that predictable? LOL Yes, I wanted to show a bit of the old Lara in the last chapter. Glad you liked!

**dtaylor **Thanks. LOL Guess you'll hate this cliffie even more :(

**Acid-Rush** LOL I can and I will. :D Both your guesses were right then. And thank you, I'm always nervous about writing action scenes. Thanks for all your advice. I'm trying not to stress out too much over GCSEs, after all, I did well on my mocks and I hardly revised for them at all…

**lara-n-kurtis **LOL I wasn't being sarcastic after all :) Thanks for the comments about action scenes. If you ever do want any input at all into your fic/s I would be happy to help. I started reading Love Takes An Angel before but got a bit sidetracked, and I have a lot on my plate at the moment. I _will_ finish it though. :D

**godavari **LOL I think I've answered some of your questions, but now more have sprung up :s Sorry about that, all will be revealed in time…

**Arakanga **Thank you. I have to say your English is amazing. :D


	25. Slouching Toward Bethlehem

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**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

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**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

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**» Chapter Twenty Four: Slouching Toward Bethlehem** **»**

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The timer beeped a shrill, metallic beep as it counted down to oblivion. Joachim Karel raised his hands to his face, shielding himself from the explosion.

It never came.

Seizing the opportunity Lara dropped the explosives, rushing forward and kicking the knife from Karel's hand. In the same moment she spun, leveling her gun at his head. She pulled the trigger.

The bullet impacted into flesh and bone, leaving the Nephilim with a sightless, frozen stare fixed upon his face. Then he crumpled to the floor.

Lara stood staring at the spot where Karel had fallen, her shoulders heaving with effort. For a moment she was simply stunned at what had just happened, then suddenly she came back to herself.

Turning sharply she ran over to Kurtis, stumbling slightly in her exhaustion.

"Kurtis…" she breathed.

His eyes flickered open with some effort. With one badly swollen though, he was having trouble registering what he saw before him. He gulped, and a slight trickle of blood ran down from the superficial cut along his throat.

"Lara," he managed, "Is that you?"

Despite herself Lara felt a tear slide down her cheek. She had never thought she would stare into those eyes again, or hear that voice – so choked with emotion.

"Yeah, it's me," she answered, reaching out a hand and touching the side of his face – the side not covered in blood, "It's alright. It's over."

He actually smiled then, and she returned the gesture.

"What about the explosives?" Kurtis asked, obviously confused, "For a second there I thought you were gonna blow the whole place to hell."

"I am," Lara told him in a conspiratorial voice, "_That_ TNT was a dud. I planted the real explosives someplace else. We've got about ten minutes to get out of here before it goes off."

Kurtis' expression softened.

"Lara…" he started to say.

She shook her head, silencing him with a finger to his lips.

"Hold that thought," she told him.

She'd been cutting time short, but her relief to reach Kurtis had momentarily made her forget the urgency of the situation. Lara stepped back and raised her gun, aiming at the manacles from which Kurtis hung.

"Hold still," she told him.

He nodded weakly.

A second before she pulled the trigger a noise sounded from behind her. Before she could even turn around she was blasted off her feet. The force carried her the length of the entire room, and she smashed into the far wall with a sickening thud.

She lay on the floor in a daze, and through blurry vision she saw Karel before her, his gloved hand outstretched and crackling with green energy. He was now in his true Nephilim form, and the pale skin of his forehead grew back, dislodging the bullet which had pierced his flesh, causing it to fall to the floor with a clatter.

He was seething with rage.

Abandoning the ritual for the time being he left the knife where it lay, and instead advanced towards Lara. With terrifying speed he reached her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and pulling her up onto her knees. Then he reared back his fist and punched her full in the face.

She collapsed back against the wall, breathing hard; her nose a bloody mess. Dark blood trickled down her chin.

Karel smiled. There was something beautiful about this mortal. Slowly he straightened up to his full height and then turned away. Unfortunately, there was no place for her in his new world.

Lara watched Karel walk away with something akin to disgust. She also realized that he underestimated her greatly. Her Uzis lay a few dozen metres away. Weakly she began crawling towards them, but Karel suddenly stood in her path. He reared back a foot and kicked her sharply in the ribs, and the force of the blow caused her to spin around before hitting the ground. The kick sent her a few metres across the room.

She cried out in pain, badly winded. She knew her ribs were bruised, and one more hard kick would probably fracture her ribcage. Using her depleting strength she pushed herself off the chamber floor, eyes fixed upon the Nephilim before her.

She still refused to give up.

Karel smiled: a cold, uncaring smile. He had to admit – this Croft woman was resilient.

"You are stubborn Lara," he told her, "Just like Trent. It is an admirable quality in an ally, but not in an enemy."

He began to walk towards her with long, purposeful strides. The sound of his footfalls echoed loudly in the almost deserted chamber.

Lara still lay on all fours, and Karel reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her up into a kneeling position. Too exhausted to resist she simply glared at him, struggling to catch her breath.

"This has gone on long enough Lara," he said, "I was going to let you live to see the rise of the Nephilim before I killed you, but now I'm just going to kill you."

"What a shame!" Lara spat back, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Karel just smiled, and lifted his free hand. It began to glow green.

"Goodbye Miss Croft," he said.

Lara heaved herself up off the floor with an effort, lunging forwards and plunging her knife into Karel's heart.

He gasped in shock, the green glow of his hand fading as quickly as it had appeared. Dark blood began to seep through his clothing, staining the hilt of the knife.

Before her minds eye Lara glimpsed a fragment of her dream. She almost sighed with relief. It had not been Kurtis she had stabbed; it had been Karel all along.

She got unsteadily to her feet, her breathing ragged. She'd almost forgotten the blade she had stowed in her boot, and was silently praising her own quick thinking. She had only been seconds away from death.

Karel had collapsed to his knees, and Lara saw the opportunity, spinning around and kicking him right in the collarbone. He crashed heavily to the floor.

Her sudden advantage gave her a rush of adrenaline, and she skidded across the chamber and grabbed one of her discarded pistols. She then hurried over to Kurtis and shot at his chains. The metal links were damaged but did not break, and Lara lifted her gun to shoot again.

"Lara, look out!" Kurtis cried.

She had barely turned around before a fist connected with her head. She fell to the ground dazed, and found Karel standing over her, his bloody hand holding Lara's knife. He was trembling with rage.

There was a moment as Lara and Karel's eyes met, and she realized with a chill what was going to happen. Pushing off the ground she lunged for the knife, knocking the Nephilim off balance. She did not stop the blade's descent however, and instead of Kurtis' heart, which had been its original target, the steel sliced into Kurtis' stomach.

He cried out in shock and pain.

Lara stood, transfixed in horror. The wound was not deep, but a fair amount of blood dripped from the cut, pooling onto the pentagram beneath Kurtis' feet. The purple changed to a pale hue of blue. Then, with a bright flash of light, the flames transformed into towering shafts of light, which leapt skyward and pierced the roof with a crack.

Chunks of rock tumbled down from the roof, and through the newly-formed hole daylight began to shine. The blue light had pierced the stone right up to the surface.

Karel spun to face Lara, a look of accomplishment on his face. She simply watched the events unfold before her with mounting terror and disbelief.

Unearthly howls filled the chamber, at first quiet and distant, as though they were emanating from the depths of Hell itself. Slowly the noises rose to an unbearable level, and Lara was forced to cover her ears with her hands. She gritted her teeth against the volume.

Suddenly the light blasted with such force it knocked Lara off her feet. Weakly she pushed herself up onto her hands, watching with horror the inevitable rise of the Nephilim.

The screams continued, and shadowy forms began to appear. Howling and writhing they rose from amidst the light. No obscure sketch in Werner's notebook could have prepared Lara for the sight of a true Nephilim.

Three towering hybrids alighted on the chamber floor. As tall as human beings they stood, and yet their translucent skin leant them an almost ethereal glow. Stunted wings lay folded against their backs, and long claws protruded from their thin, bony hands. But it was their red glowing eyes which sent a shiver down Lara's spine.

And somewhere in the deepest recess of her mind she recalled the final lines of the prophecy:

"_And they will spill over the Earth, pillaging and burning and destroying, and the sons of Men will cower before them and be afraid. So it is written and so it shall be."_

**TBC…**

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**Author's Notes**

Well, I did update before I went away like so many people wished, but now I think I've left you with an even worse cliffhanger. Oops! Well, you've only got yourselves to blame:D I'm definitely gonna get started on the sequel on the plane, and I've gotten a lot of ideas for a Kurtis fic recently. Obviously I will finish this story first though.

**Acid-Rush **LOL Well, I took your threats very seriously as you can see ;) I don't know why but misery seems to be very entertaining… Or maybe I'm just a very twisted person :D Thank you – that speech was a last minute addition I was very proud of. Glad you liked!

**godavari **LOL You seriously don't know how much I laughed when I received your review. I sense you were _slightly _pissed off? Well, since the story is reaching its end cliffhangers are the order of the day, so they're unavoidable really. Sorry :)

**N.F.I** Thanks! I was very proud of coming up with that little twist.

**AngelTrent **Thanks! Sorry about the cliffie :)

**SilverDragon67 **Thank you. I do try to write this story like the game, whilst making it as realistic as possible.

**lara-n-kurtis **I promised to update didn't I? I'm afraid there's no respite for Lara yet. I'm afraid you'll have to wait, although she did get a little revenge on Karel…

**Arakanga **Thanks!

**Lady Lara Croft **I'm afraid I _did _do that :D I do love my readers! (hugs everyone) I'm not going to stop don't worry… I'll just infuriate people with cliffhangers :)

**Brightbear **Yep, Lara is kicking a lot of ass. And no they haven't gone down in flames, but then again…

**Dtaylor **LOL Glad you enjoyed ;)


	26. A New World

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**Slouching Toward Bethlehem  
**A continuation of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own any recognisable characters that appear in this piece of fiction. Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent and others are property of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. The only thing I own is some OCs and the plot. This story was written for pleasure only. I am making no profit from this story.

**Contact:  
**If you have any questions or comments about this story please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

* * *

**» Chapter Twenty Five: A New World** **»**

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**

Lara, still on her knees, scooted backwards a few metres. She had no wish whatsoever to incur the wrath of these creatures. Karel however had no such qualms, and stepped closer to the three Nephilim, positively shaking with anticipation.

"By my hand and by Lux Veritatis blood you are standing here today. I have tried for centuries to free you from your prison. The Cubiculum Nephili was destroyed, but in my search of the ancient texts I found the ancient prophecy and the instructions for the ritual. Many of my men have given their lives to bring you once more onto the Earth." His eyes gleamed with promise. Lara had a feeling he had practised this speech before. "Join with me. Become my army, and I promise I shall lead you into war against this world. We will reclaim the paradise the Father denied us so many eons ago."

The tallest Nephilim stepped forwards, its slanted red eyes searching Karel with increasing intensity. A moment later it blinked, having finished its assessment.

"The Earth is already ours," the Nephilim replied, its voice a deathly whisper. "We have no further use of you."

It raised one claw-tipped hand. A green glow began to envelope the palm, and tiny crackles resembling lightning danced about the newly-formed sphere of energy.

A sharp bolt of green light flew across the chamber, exploding into Karel and carrying him halfway across the room with its force. He hit the back wall hard and lay in an unmoving slump.

Lara gaped in horror. Was Karel dead? Perhaps the power of a Nephilim could kill others of their own kind.

There was a piercing shriek. Lara turned to find the Nephilim gathering beneath the hole in the ceiling. One by one they unfolded their wings, the leathery skin beating against the dust-filled air. With slow deliberate wing beats they flew up and out of the gaping hole in the ceiling, up towards the heavens.

Once they were out of sight Lara ran over to Karel. She fell to her knees and put a finger to his neck. He had no pulse whatsoever.

Joachim Karel was dead – killed by his own creation.

Shakily Lara regained her footing. Now the only two left alive in the chamber were herself and Kurtis. She just wished the journey towards this outcome had been a little different.

She rushed across the floor, picking her way around the rubble which had fallen and which continued to fall from the broken ceiling. The light clanking of chains announced that Kurtis was weakly pulling at his restraints.

Lara rushed over to him.

"Kurtis?" Lara asked fearfully, "Are you OK?"

She reached out a hand and touched his side lightly. Kurtis flinched a little as pain reawakened throughout his body. Quickly though he covered up his discomfort with a slight smile.

"I hate it when they stab me," he muttered.

Lara's dirt and tear-streaked face broke into a grateful smile. Gently she leaned forwards and kissed him, resting her bloodied hands upon his shoulders.

They stood and embraced; safe in the knowledge that they were both still alive and had found each other at last. Slowly though reality overcome their passion, and Lara gently pulled back and stared into Kurtis' eyes.

"I don't know why the Nephilim ignored us. Perhaps they thought we would die down here anyways… In any case: let's the get the hell outta here, shall we?"

He smiled.

Lara retrieved her pistols from the floor, took aim, and finally shot out the chains holding up Kurtis' arms.

He slumped heavily, and Lara hooked his arm about her shoulder and helped support his weight. She had a sudden feeling of déjà vu, and her thoughts flashed back to the Strahov, when she'd first helped an injured Kurtis regain his feet. Damn, that seemed like a lifetime ago.

They had taken barely a dozen steps when Kurtis gasped and clutched at his stomach. The gash was beginning to bleed quite heavily.

"I need to bandage the wound," Lara told him.

Kurtis looked up at her in shock.

"Lara, this whole place is gonna blow in less than ten minutes. The ceiling is coming down on us as we speak. We really need to be making tracks!"

Lara spoke in a firm voice full of conviction: "I'd rather get buried down here than have you bleed to death on me later. OK?"

She looked at him with total honesty.

Kurtis simply sighed and gave a shrug. "If we don't make it out of here in time, I'll hold it against you for all of eternity."

Lara rolled her eyes and gently lowered him to the floor, so that his back rested against a badly-ravaged stone pillar.

Quickly Lara fished the bandages out of her backpack. Behind her there was a scraping sound, as though something were being dragged across hard rock.

She turned, finding herself staring down the barrel of a gun. An extremely pale-looking Gunderson stood weakly before her, his hands trembling as they held his pistol. Dark blood ran from the many bullet wounds which decorated his body, but in his eyes there was a mad desperation which continued to kept him upright.

Before Lara could even react there was a loud gunshot. The sound reverberated and echoed around the walls.

Gunderson's lips tightened in pain. Weakly, he lowered his head and stared disbelievingly at the fresh bullet hole in his chest, right in the middle of his heart.

The blood had barely begun to stain his jacket. Without another sound he finally fell; his lifeless body collapsing sideways upon the cold stone floor.

It had all happened in less than five seconds. Lara turned to find Kurtis lowering one of her smoking guns, a child-like grin on his face.

"I just lived out the American dream," he joked, "I killed my boss."

Lara gave him an amused smile, stepping over to make sure Gunderson was really dead.

Satisfied, she left the body where it lay and knelt back in front of Kurtis, picking up a roll of bandages.

"I don't have anything to clean this wound," she admitted after a moment.

Kurtis gave Gunderson's corpse a little nod with his head.

"I know for sure he has a bottle of whiskey in his belt."

Lara stepped over and soon found the canteen. She also retrieved Kurtis' Boran X and his Chirguai.

Once she had given Kurtis back his weapons – much to his delight – she poured some of the whiskey onto a corner of bandage and cleaned his wounds as best she could and as much as she willing to do so. Kurtis gritted his teeth and hissed heavily as the burning liquor cauterised his wounds.

"How did you know he had whiskey?" Lara asked after a moment. At the same time she dabbed some ointment on the burn marks on his chest, elicting a hiss of pain, and drew back with a guilty smile. When she met Kurtis' eyes she suddenly realized what the alcohol had been used for.

Fuel to set him on fire.

"Oh God, Kurtis," she murmured, slowly drawing back her hand.

He shook his head shortly.

"I've been through worse," he admitted, giving her a smile, "I'll be fine. We really need to be going." He added with slight innuendo: "You can mother me later."

A suggestive smile pulled at Lara's lips. Quickly she finished wrapping his stomach as best she could. Then she pulled the flask of tea out of her backpack.

"Drink this," she said, unscrewing the lid and handing the container to Kurtis.

He did so, and had had only a few mouthfuls when he lowered the flask and began to splutter.

"It's awful!" he complained.

"I know," Lara answered with a snigger, "Just drink it. It'll help you heal."

Kurtis gave the flask's contents a wary look, but proceeded to drink once again. When he'd drunk his fill he pushed the flask towards Lara.

"You have the last of it," he explained.

"Kurtis. You need it more," Lara told him firmly, looking at him with serious eyes.

"Lara," he insisted, "You're hurt too."

There was a test of wills for a moment. The floor shook and more pieces of ceiling fell. Lara looked about her and sighed, snatching the flask out of Kurtis' hands. She was going to need the extra strength to get of here intact.

Tipping back her head she drank until there nothing but dregs left. She almost spat it all back out, but she put a hand up to her mouth and forced herself to swallow.

She began to throw everything into her backpack. Kurtis gave her an amused look.

"Can't take your medicine?" he asked.

"Shut up Kurtis," she shot back, giving him a devious smile, "It looks like the tea has restored your sarcasm. God knows I could live without it." She hitched her backpack over her shoulders. "Now we _really_ need to be getting out of here."

She held out a hand towards him. He grabbed it and she helped tug him to his feet. The tea had healing properties, both physically and mentally. Lara and Kurtis may have been exhausted before, but the drink had helped restore that lost energy.

The whole room shook violently. Larger and larger chunks of rock began to fall from above their heads.

"Can you run?" Lara asked him.

"If the occasion calls for it," he answered, "Which it does."

He grabbed her hand and abruptly pulled her out of the path of a piece of falling debris.

They exchanged a glance, their hearts racing from the near-miss. The room shook even harder. Without a second thought they raced from the room, hand-in-hand, up the sloping corridors and towards the surface at break-neck speed.

Behind them the entrance to the Heart finally gave way. The pillars holding up the roof collapsed, and everything crumbled under the weight. Huge fragments of rock and masonry piled up in the now useless doorway, sealing the chamber from the inside.

Beneath hundreds of tonnes of rock, the Nephilim city lay in ruins.

**TBC…**

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**Author's Notes**

Sorry about the extended delay everyone. Most of this chapter was written on the coach and the rest soon followed. My internet simply decided to mess up the day I got back, meaning I had to type up the chapter again on my sister's laptop in order to post it. Plus I was really ill this weekend. Buffy fans may notice a little reference in this chapter: "I hate it when they drown me." I couldn't resist :) On a different note: Wow, just one more update to go and this story will be finished!

**Brightbear **Yup, I do love my myriad of plot twists. I'm glad I kept you on your toes!

**N.F.I **LOL Well, I'm sorry for the delay this time around. Although Lara and Kurtis are both alive and _mostly _well :)

**dtaylor **I'm sorry. I think I have an addiction to cliffhangers :) Yup, just one more chapter to go…

**Acid-Rush** I'm relieved to see I've got everyone in character. That is always my biggest worry. Glad you liked:D

**Lady Lara Croft** LOL There is many a time I've wanted to bang my head on the computer screen. It is almost therapeutic in it's more painful-like subtleties. :) Hmmm, how long _will_ everyone have to live:D

**AngelTrent **Thanks, I did have a nice trip. Hope you like this chapter too.

**Arakanga **Thank you once again!

**Jordana Trent **Thanks for the correction. I knew that sentence didn't sound right :s I enjoyed writing all of Karel's dialogue. I'm going to miss that Nephilim…

**lara-n-kurtis **Yes, at least Lara got him back for shooting her. I'm working on the sequel as much as possible: more plotline than writing it I'm afraid. Hopefully you won't have too long to wait though.

**godavari **LOL Here is the next update my "angry, impatient" reviewer. :) I don't think you'll be having any more bitch fits. But just you wait...

**Lara-is-my-rolemodel **Hey, welcome back! Chapter 7? Has it been that long? Glad to see you catching up with the story. Thanks for all your comments :D


	27. Epilogue

Darkness surrounded them, suffocating and blinding their senses. Still they pressed on, reaching for the sunlight which beckoned at the end of the tunnel. Debris crashed down around them as Lara and Kurtis emerged, still hand-in-hand, running at a speed lent by pure instinct.

Beneath their feet rock shook and splintered; the ground was swallowed up at their heels. Lara's explosives had destroyed the city's foundations, and everything on top was simply falling down to meet it. A dull roar echoed from the catacombs below as a plume of dust exploded from the tunnel entrance behind them. Heedless they raced on, never slowing or looking back. Both came to a shuddering halt when they felt the ground beneath them grow stable.

They turned to find themselves clear of the abyss of rock and sand that had swallowed the underground city. The excavation site was gone; all that remained was the end of the long transport road. Beyond that yawned an immense crater still smoking with dust.

Slowly the echoes of the implosion faded as they climbed a gentle slope in the midst of the desert. When they reached its summit Kurtis came to a standstill, resting his bloodied hands upon his knees and gasping for breath. With some effort Lara stepped up beside him. The afternoon sun shone hard across the Cappadocian landscape, causing the desert air to shimmer with heat. She raised a hand to shield her sight against the glare.

Unearthly howls carried across on the desert breeze. Lara squinted her eyes against the desert sun. She could just make out three dark forms receding into the distance, silhouetted against the sky. The Nephilim were free to pray on an unsuspecting world.

Lara sensed Kurtis straighten up beside her. Quietly she turned to look at him, taking in his bloody and battered appearance. Now that the adrenaline was fading in her veins she was starting to feel the effects of battle too; her legs felt as if they might buckle beneath her own weight. Before them the sun hovered on the edge of the sandy horizon, as if tottering on the verge of existence.

Without a word the two began to descend the rocky plateau. Loose stones clattered in their wake as they slowly picked their way down to the ground. It did not take them long to reach the place where Lara had hidden the motorbike. The keys were still in her backpack, and soon the engine came to life with a roar. Carefully Lara swung a leg across the bike and settled down behind Kurtis in the driver's seat. Then she knocked the kickstand back as Kurtis brought the motorbike around with a tremendous screech of the tyres.

They roared after the Nephilim.

**THE END**

**XXX**

_It felt •so• good typing those last two words :) I kept this part back because I wanted to get it perfect. As E.P.O put it, AoD's ending was 'oddly unhappy-yet-somewhat-hopeful'. I wanted to try and give that impression again. After all, AoD was originally meant to be a three-part story. This was my interpretation of the second part of the story; the third part is to follow. This is the first full-length story I have ever finished, so I am very happy but also eager to start on the sequel! Any unresolved issues or unanswered questions will be addressed in the next story. I haven't come up with a title for it yet: everyone will simply have to keep their eyes peeled when looking at the stories list._

_I would like to thank everyone who has ever read, reviewed or simply lurked around this story. This was my first posted fanfic and I am so thankful for everyone's comments and input. They really do help me improve my writing, and spur me on to update faster :D A special thanks to Acid-Rush and Lady Lara Croft in particular, who have read and reviewed this story right from the beginning! __•__hugs everyone suffocatingly tight__•_

_Hmm, well I best get started on the sequel now. I promise there will be cliffhangers and angst galore! __•__stares around at angry readers__•__ Okay… I think I'm gonna run away now. See everyone soon!_


End file.
